Hojo's Legacy
by mknote
Summary: Troubled by headaches and visions, Cloud Strife sets out on an unknown quest. Along the way, he'll meet an old friend long thought dead. The third story in Frank Verderosa's FFVII Internet Series.
1. Prologues

_Publisher's Disclaimer: Besides this and the note at the end of the last chapter, I, mknote, did not write a single word of this story. It was entirely written by Frank Verderosa. I hope you enjoy Hojo's Legacy._

PROLOGUE I

GHOSTS FROM THE PAST

Buried deep beneath the ruins of Midgar, a rat move slowly through the pitch darkness of a sub basement in Shinra Headquarters. It moved easily through the darkness, having passed this way many times before in it's daily routine. No sunlight could reach this room so deep beneath the earth, but the room was not totally dark. Amid the dark silouttes of the silent machinery that filled the room a single red light blinked slowly beneath a computer terminal. The rat took no notice, for to it the light, blinking with seeming infinite patience, was just part of the room.

But suddenly the rat sensed a change. It stood on it's hind legs and sniffed the air. It could detect no threats, yet it was uneasy. To the rat, any change in the enviornment around it was a potential danger.

The light was no longer blinking, but glowed steadily.

The rat froze as it heard a soft sound. A faint hum as the fan inside the computer came to life. There was a beep, and the rat skittered across the room in fright. Moments later words flashed up on the screen, a screen that had been blank and lifeless since the fall of meteor.

"Timout Period Exceeded. No User Input."

The rat stopped for a moment by a narrow crack in the wall that served as it's entrance and exit from the room, still unsure of itself.

Again words flashed across the sceen.

"Initiating Default Protocol Hojo One"

"Press any key within 10 seconds to cancel"

The rat sank back down onto all fours and paced nervously back and forth by the crack as the number on the screen dropped toward zero. It felt a strong desire to flee, but, unsure of the direction of the danger, did not know which way to run.

The countdown reached zero.

"Initializing program..."

An electrical inpulse sped from the machine. It tripped a circuit in a room hidden even deeper below ground. There was a moments pause, then, with a sharp whine, a line of generators hummed to life.

Up above the rat stood bewildered as the once silent room began to fill with sounds. Suddenly the overhead lights flashed on, bringing a blinding light to the room that had been shrouded in darkness for so long. The rat turned and ran through the crack in the wall as if it's very life depended on it.

* * *

PROLOGUE 2

The convoy consisted of three trucks escorted by four men on Chocobos. It moved slowly down the road from Costa Del Sol toward Corel. The roads in this area were not in good repair, sometimes dwindling to no more than a rough path through the overgrown grass, which forced them to go much slower than the convoy leader would have liked. Since the fall of Shinra and the destruction of Midgar the cities that remained spent most of their money and efforts within their own borders, and none seemed willing to take responsibility for the roads and infrastucture that lay between them. As a result most of the roads had fallen into disrepair, and some were now nearly impassable. As if to emphasize this point, the convoy came over a low ridge and the road led down to a swift running river, but the narrow wooden bridge that had spanded it just a week ago was gone, with a couple of wooden posts jutting from the water as the only hint that it had ever been there at all.

Not only was no one spending money to keep the roads in repair, there also were no security forces available to patrol the routes between the cities. As a result bands of theives had proliferated in the area, bent on making an easy buck by stealing from any unprotected traffic that passed through. Unbenownst to the convoy leader, even as he got out of the truck to discuss the situtation with the others in his party, a number of men were watching closely from a nearby stand of trees.

"So what are we waiting for?" Altim asked impatiently. "The convoy is stopped dead."

Shu gave him a look of disapproval.

"For Bennis to give the signal, of course," he replied,

"Well, what's taking him so long?" Altim persisted. The convoy looked completely helpless.

"Shut up and be patient," Shu said sharply. "You're not fooling around with your street gang in Junon anymore. This is the real thing, and we're not playing games. They have to check it out to make sure everything is okay."

Altim looked at Shu darkly, but said nothing.

"And when they do give the signal," Shu continued, "don't go rushing out there like some kind of hero. Stay in the back and use the materia we gave you."

"But all you gave me was 'cure'," Altim protested. "I can't even get into the battle with that. How can I use my knife if I stay in the back?"

"Just shut up and do as you're told!" Shu replied angrily. "You're the new guy in the group, and your job is to help us, not fight. This is nothing like it was in Junon. These people may be fighting to the death, and you have no experience with these kind of battles. If you go running up to the front lines now you're either going to get yourself killed or someone is going to have to waste their time to come and save your neck. You think you know what you are doing but you really don't have the slightest idea until you've done this a few times. So just trust me and stay out of trouble."

"Just because you're my cousin doesn't mean you can tell me what to do," Altim responded.

"It's not that you're my cousin," Shu replied patiently. "We do this with all the new guys. You need some experience before you can be useful in a battle like this, and nobody gets experience it they're dead. Now please do as I say!"

Shu turned at the sound of a high pitched bird call, repeated three times.

"That's the signal, let's go."

As Altim followed Shu out of the trees he saw a dozen other men advancing on the convoy as well. He could see Bennis not far away to his right, a large older man with short brown hair and beard. Beside him walked another, a much younger man with jet black hair whose name he did not know but had been refered to by some of the others only as the Swordsman. Altim thought the name apt, for the man carried a huge sword strapped to his back, larger than any he had ever seen before. He wondered how the man could fight with such a thing, for it looked much too heavy to be used with any dexterity.

It took a moment for those in the convoy to notice the newcomers, but when they did they quickly gathered together. The convoy leader and another man started towards them. When there were about twenty yards seperating them the convoy leader halted.

"That's close enough," he said. "What is your business here?"

Bennis stopped and held up his hand to halt the others.

"I think that's pretty obvious," he replied. "We want what's in your trucks. If you leave without giving us any trouble no one will get hurt. If you oppose us, we will kill you all without mercy."

The convoy leader did not reply but talked quietly to the man next to him.

"I suggest you make up your mind swiftly," Bennis stated. "I'm not known for my patience."

The convoy leader looked at him.

"Very well," he said. "We don't want anyone to get hurt. If you want what is in the trucks, then you shall have it."

He turned back toward the trucks.

"Let 'em have it!" he shouted.

Suddenly the back of two of the trucks fell open and men in black and gold uniforms started pouring out.

"Gold Saucer guards!" the Swordman shouted. "It's a trap."

Altim saw Bennis look toward the trees, but they were too far away to retreat back that way. They had been suckered out into the open. The Swordsman quickly pulled out his sword, holding it with surprising ease. Beside him Bennis suddenly produced a gun from beneath the folds of his cape. Then with a yell they both charged forward.

The rest of the men followed. Altim stayed behind Shu as he ran forward. In moments he was surrounded by the clash of weapons and the shouts and screams of men. He tried to keep up with Shu, but it was difficult in the confusion that swirled around him. One of the guards came at him, but he dashed away and the guard turned toward another. His knife was poised in his hand, but he had not expected the ferocity that he saw from the men around him. He had been in a couple of gang fights, and some of his friends had died in battles, but nothing he had done compared to this.

He stopped and looked around. Shu was nowhere in sight. He was close to the trucks now, and there seemed to be more guards around than his own people. He turned as one of the guards came at him again. He dodged in and slashed at the man with his knife, cutting into the man's arm and feeling it strike bone. With a cry the man sprang back, but then came forward and stabbed at him. He dodged back in surprise, feeling the blade cut his leg. He turned to run but saw three other men coming up behind him.

He looked around quickly, feeling sudden desperation. Where were the others?

Suddenly a figure sprang up beside him. A sword flashed in the air, and two of the men went down before they even realized what had happened. The third turned and parried a blow that struck with such force that it knocked him off balance. The Swordsman's blade flashed again, and the man fell and lay still. The other man, the one Altim had wounded, suddenly turned and began to stumble away, but before he had taken more than two steps the Swordsman was upon him.

The man cried out as the sword fell, and then he dropped to the ground. The Swordsman turned to look at Altim for a moment. Altim looked at him in surprise, for his eyes glowed with a strange light. It was the light that was caused by the infusion of Mako energy, he immediately realized, though he had never before seen it. It marked the man as a member of Shinra's old elite fighting force, SOLDIER. Altim started to speak, but before he did the man turned away and hurried off.

Altim looked down at the gash on his leg, and for the first time remembered the materia he had been given. He quickly took it out and cast cure on himself. He looked up and saw that the battle was just about over, and the Gold Saucer guards had been routed in spite of their surprise. Apparently they had not expected the opposition to have such a strong force.

He could see Shu standing near on of the trucks, with Bennis and the Swordsman beside him. He quickly hurried over, stopping only to cast cure on any of the theives that had been wounded. As he reached Shu's side another man came up.

"They have over 10,000 gil in the third truck, as well as a dozen materia orbs," the man said to Bennis.

"No wonder they had some protection," he mused. "But they weren't expecting to run into a force like ours, eh?" he continued with a laugh. "Look's like it was worth the trouble after all."

"We captured four from the convoy, " the man contiuned. "Two Gold Saucer guards, who are wounded but still alive. One of the truck drivers and a laborer. What should we do with them?"

Bennis looked at the man grimly.

"Kill them all," he said unhesitantly. "I warned them what would happen if they resisted."

* * *

That evening Altim sat with Shu by a campfire in the woods far to the south of the scene of the attack. The other theives were busy setting up camp around them.

"So, you lived through it after all," Shu remarked. "What did you think?"

"You were right, it was different," Altim replied. He looked around and saw the Swordsman nearby, sitting in front of a tent polishing his sword.

"Who is that guy, anyway?" he said softly, nodding with his head toward the man. "He fought like a demon. He probably saved my life."

Shu smiled grimly.

"Yeah, he's different all right. I've never seen anyone as good with a sword."

"What's his real name?" Altim asked.

Shu shrugged.

"Beats me."

Altim looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Haven't you ever asked him?"

"He doesn't know himself," Shu responded. "It's a real strange story. Bennis found him about, oh, over two years ago, I guess. It was just outside of Midgar. He was just laying on the ground in a pool of blood. He'd been shot about five of six times. I've never seen anyone still alive with wounds that bad. Bennis might be a mean son of a bitch, but he admires toughness. We took the guy in, figuring if he could survive he might be useful. It took months, but he finally pulled through. Thing is, he couldn't remember anything about himself. Not who he was, or where he came from, or even who had shot him or why. He couldn't remember a damn thing about what happened to him before he had been shot. He didn't have a name, but the first time he picked up a sword, we could tell he was good with one. He had the one he's got now specially made, and ever since then that's what we've called him, the Swordsman. I tell you, he's saved our butts more than once in the past."

The Swordsman glanced up at them, and for a second Altim thought he realized that they were talking about him. But after a moment he turned away and continued polishing his sword. He did it every night, sometimes more often if they fought more than one battle. He polished the sword slowly, going over the surface inch by inch, taking his time and not missing a single spot. The sword was more than a sword, it was an extension of himself. Even more than that, he felt an attachement with this sword from the past. Somehow he knew this sword was the right thing for him, though he did not know how he knew.

He looked up once more and glanced around the camp. He knew the sword was right, though he could not remember how it was connected to his past. He couldn't remember anything about a sword at all, but it was not quite true that he remembered nothing at all. Occasionally there were jumbled hints of things that had happened to him that rose near the surface, but he could never quite grasp them. But there was one thing that he did remember clearly, though he had never mentioned it to anyone. It was the face of a woman. A woman with emerald green eyes.


	2. Anybody Got an Aspirin?

CHAPTER I

ANYBODY GOT AN ASPIRIN?

A number of people stopped and stared as the red beast walked slowly through the streets of Kalm. Though Red had been here a number of times in the past, there were still some who had never seen the legendary guardian of Cosmo Canyon. He was used to having people stare at him, however, and ignored the looks.

He reached Tifa's bar and walked inside. This early in the day there were only a few customers. He saw Aeris and Reeve sitting at a table nearby. They looked up as he came in.

"Hi Red," Aeris said, smiling pleasently.

"Greetings," Red said, coming over to their table. "How is everyone?"

"Good," Aeris replied. "How are things back in Cosmo Canyon?"

"Rather hectic," Red replied. "They're planning some major expansions, and they're constantly coming to me for suggestions or advice, even for things I know absolutely nothing about. They seem to think that just becuase I'm the guardian and Bugenhagen's heir that I have all the answers. I have to admit it's a bit overwhelming. I've been so busy, it seems like I have no free time at all anymore. You don't know how difficult it was to get away."

"I don't think they're coming to you because you are the guardian of the Canyon," Aeris commented. "I think they're coming to you because they know you're smart."

"Sounds like you're turning into a bureaucrat," Reeve observed. "I know how tough it is to run a city. If you need any help, just let me know."

"Thank you both," Red responded. "I may just take you up on that, Reeve. Where's Cloud?"

"He's in the back with Tifa," Reeve responded. "They should be out in a minute."

"I'd like to thank you all again for agreeing to come with me," Red continued.

"You don't need to thank us," Aeris said. "If there is another of your species out there I'm as curious as you are to find him, or her."

Red had told the others he had seen another red beast shortly after they had finished their previous adventure. He had gone back to Cosmo Canyon with the intention of immediately returning to Icicle Inn to hunt for this creature, but as he had mentioned, his duties had kept him busy. For months, as it turned out. Although he longed with all his being to go start searching, he still felt honor bound to put the Canyon's concerns ahead his own.

His friends had agreed to help him with the search if they could, but now that he had finally gotten to it, not everyone was available. Still, he would have gone alone if necessary.

"Her," he said.

"Huh?" Aeris looked at him.

"Her," he repeated. "It was definitely a female.

Aeris eyes widened, and she smiled.

"How can you be so sure?" Reeve asked. "I thought you only got a glimpse."

"Would it take more than a glimpse for you to spot a female of your species?" Red replied. "Besides, I could tell from her scent. It was undoubtedly a female."

"Cool," Reeve said. Aeris gave Red a knowing glance. No wonder he was so anxious to start the search, she thought.

"Is Cait ready to go?" he asked, looking at Reeve.

Reeve paused for a moment before answering.

"Now that you mention it, I think I might want to go with you myelf this time."

They both looked at him in surprise.

"Reeve, I didn't think you were the adventerous type," Aeris said, looking at him thoughtfully.

Reeve shrugged.

"I'm not, really. It's just that when I use Cait I feel...well, like a voyeur sometimes. I'm always watching what everyone else is doing but I'm never really participating myself. It makes me feel left out sometimes."

"I didn't know you felt that way," Red said slowly.

"Oh course you can come if you want," Aeris said quickly."We'll be glad to have you."

Reeve face brightened.

"Thanks," he said. "And it's not like we're going to be in any danger. I mean, we're just searching for this other creature, or person, if you will. The worst that could happen is we get a little cold, right?"

Aeris and Red just looked at one another. They both knew how these things had a tendency to snowball.

"I suppose," Aeris said dubiously.

"Okay then," Reeve answered, apparently undaunted by her doubts. "I'm ready to go!"

Red shrugged. He looked at Aeris.

"How's Shera, by the way?" he asked.

"Doing fine," Aeris replied. "The baby shower is in four days."

"I still can't believe they're having a baby," Red said, shaking his head.

"Yeah," Reeve agreed. "They certainly didn't waste any time. I just can't picture Cid as a Dad."

"Stranger things have happened," Aeris commented.

Reeve turned and looked back toward the kitchen.

"Hey you two, get a move on," he called out. "Red's here and we're ready to go."

"Be there in a minute," Tifa called out. She put the last of the mugs she had on her tray up in the cabinet beside her and looked at Cloud.

"Seems like they're in..."

She stopped when she saw the grimace on Cloud's face. His arms came up and clutched his head, and the mugs he was holding crashed to the floor.

"Cloud, are you all right?" she said, hurrying over to him.

He did not answer, but continued to hold his head, in obvious pain. She led him over to a chair and he sat down. She looked at him in silence, filled with concern. He hadn't had a headache like this in ages.

Not since before Aeris was ressurected.

The others had heard the crash of the mugs hitting the floor and now entered the room.

"What happened?" Reeve asked.

Tifa did not reply, but stood looking at Cloud.

"Cloud," she said softly.

He lowered his hands slowly and looked around.

"Just a... headache," he said. "I'm all right now."

But the look on his face told Tifa another story.

"Maybe you should lie down for a little while," she suggested.

"I'm fine," he said with a touch of anger. He got up and looked at them sharply, as if daring anyone to challange his statement.

"Okay," Reeve said slowly. "Then shall we be on our way?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied. He took a step forward but then stopped and gripped his head again. He stumbled and would have fallen if Tifa had not grabbed him for support.

"Cloud, you're not okay," she told him. "Maybe we should take you to see a doctor."

"I don't need a doctor," he said, not looking up at her. "It's just a headache. All I need is some rest and I'll be fine."

He lifted his head.

"I'm going up to my room. I guess I'll have to pass up this little excursion. You all go on without me."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Aeris asked.

Cloud took a deep breath.

"Yes, I'll be fine. It's just a headache."

"I'll stay with you," Tifa volunteered. "C'mon, I'll help you to your room."

"I don't need your help," he said rather harshly, pushing her arm away. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You go on with them, I'll be fine."

He walked slowly out of the room, not even looking back to see the hurt look on her face.

Aeris stepped over to her.

"It's all right," she said. "He didn't mean it. He's just not feeling well."

Tifa said nothing, but stared at the doorway Cloud had just retreated through. Finally she turned toward them.

"You go on," she said slowly. "I don't care what he said. I'm staying with him."

* * *

"He's not going to show up," Reno stated.

Elena gave him a look but said nothing. They and Rude stood near the center of Wonder Square at the Gold Saucer.

"Can't really blame him though," Reno continued. "I've heard that vampires are notoriously unreliable."

"Reno, you are such an idiot," she said. "Vincent is not a vampire."

"Believe what you want, babe," Reno replied, unmoved. "But if you're going to hang out with him, I suggest you stock up on your garlic."

Elena shook her head.

"I don't know why I even talk to you two," she said.

"Hey, I didn't say anything," Rude protested.

Elena did not respond. She knew the best thing that she could do would be to ignore Reno's little jabs.

"Well, you can waste your time standing around here if you want," Reno continued. "I'm going to see what Dio has to say."

They had come to the Gold Saucer because they had been told that Dio might have a job for them.

"I'm going to go play some video games," Rude said, pointing upstairs.

"Fine," Reno said. He didn't have anything against mixing a little pleasure with their business. "Just don't get lost."

He looked at Elena.

"I'm sure you'll still be here when I get back," he said. "Alone."

Elena ignored him. She went over to a bench near the stairway and sat down. He looked at her for a moment, then turned and walked down the hallway.

Why did he have to be so irritating, she thought. He always seemed to know just what to say to get under her skin. Lately he had been bugging her unmercifally about her relationship with Vincent. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if she wasn't troubled about it herself.

She sat back in her chair and watched the river of people flow by.

They had been seeing each other occasionally for months now, and Vincent was always attentative and polite when they were together, but things had not gotten any further than that, even though she had dropped some pretty obvious hints that she wanted them to.

The problem was that she just didn't know how he felt about her. The problem was that she really didn't know how he felt about anything. The fact that he was mysterious was one of the things that had attacted her to him in the first place, but now it seemed to be getting in the way. Trying to devine his thoughts was as useless as trying to read the thoughts of a brick wall.

Even when they were together he never talked about himself. She could understand him not wanting to talk about his past. She knew that Hojo had done unpleasent things to him, and though she was curious she had never asked him about it. If he wanted to tell her, he could, but she wasn't going to force him. Not about that. But she wanted to know what was going on in his life now, but he never said anything about that either. Even when she asked him, his answers were always vaugue or obscure. She didn't even know what he did for a living. She couldn't get a straight answer out of him with even the simplest of questions.

"Elena."

She turned around, startled, to see Vincent standing behind her.

He couldn't even walk up in front of her like a normal person.

"Must you do that?" she said, getting up.

He shrugged in reply.

She just looked at him for a moment, and he returned her gaze in a cool disspationate way. He had the deepest darkest eyes, and his gaze could be incredibly uncomfortable when he set his mind to it. A gaze that could wither a plant, Rude had called it. But he was not looking at her that way now, and when he suddenly smiled she quickly forgot all about her doubts. She was the only one who could make him smile like that.

"C'mon," she said, taking his arm. "Let's take a walk."

"I understand you may be taking a job from Dio," Vincent said as they walked down the corridor.

She looked at him in suprise.

"How do you know that?" she said.

"Never mind that," he replied. "The job will be very dangerous. I want you to be careful."

"We can take care of ourselves," she answered quickly and with more than a touch of pride. But she immediately regretted it. Her face softened. "What, are you worried about me?"

He did not respond.

She looked up.

"C'mon," she said, pointing to the sign to Round Square. "Let's take the Gondola ride."

They made their way through the crowd. The Gold Saucer seemed busier than ever, and it took them a little while to reach the Gondola. Vincent paid for their tickets and they got in.

"I've heard the view is spectacular," Elena commented as she sat down beside him.

Vincent nodded.

There was a slight jerk and the gondola began moving.

"I was thinking about coming with you," he said.

She looked at him, not sure what he meant at first.

"You mean on this job?" she said in surprise.

He nodded.

"I don't have anything that needs my attention right now. Do you think Reno would mind?"

"Who cares," she answered immediately, surprised and pleased at the same time. Vincent had never suggested such a thing before. Was he that worried about her, or did he just want to spend more time with her? Either way she thought it was a good sign.

Looking out the window she could see the Chocobo racers rushing by below them. They could both here the roar of the crowd cheering on their favorites.

She knew Reno wouldn't be pleased to have Vincent come along with them. Which was yet another reason for her to be pleased. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face.

"I'd love for you to come," she said, sliding closer to him on the seat.

He smiled again but said nothing. He turned to look back out the window.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking at the attractions through the gondola window. The view really was terrific.

They had reached the very top of the Gold Saucer now, and saw the entire amusement park below them. Elena leaned closer to Vincent to get a better view outside. Their faces were very close now. She looked at him but he was looking out the window.

"Vincent," she said softly.

He turned to look at her, but she said nothing, just looked into his eyes. Those dark red eyes, so inhuman, and yet so much human at the same time. Others had mentioned how cold his eyes were, but when she looked at them now, she thought they were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

Their faces were inches apart now, but he made no move. She thought she was being very obvious about her intentions. but sometimes men just didn't see things the same way. Hard as it was for her to believe, maybe he didn't see just how attracted she was to him. Quite suddenly she decided that it was time to do something that would make her feelings unequivocally clear.

She leaned forward and kissed him.

For a moment she was sure she had done the right thing. For a moment she felt like he was glad she had done it, had wanted more than anything for this to happen. For a moment she felt his arms reaching around her to embrace her.

But then he suddenly pulled back and turned away.

She stared at him, shocked and surprised by the sudden change. She just didn't understand.

"Vincent," she said again, but this time her voice could not conceal the hurt she suddenly felt.

He shook his head and did not look at her.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

For a moment she found herself at a loss for words.

The gondola suddenly slowed to a halt, and she saw that they were back in the station. The ride was over.

"Vincent, please tell me what's wrong," she said pleadingly.

He looked at her, and his face was suddenly impassive. His eyes no longer holding even a hint of emotion. She could almost hear the wall slamming down between them.

"My problems are my own," he answered, slowly but firmly. "There is nothing you could do about them, even if you could understand them, which you could not."

He got up and opened the gondola door, then started walking down the corridor. She followed, but he did not turn back to look at her.

"Are you still going to come with us?" she asked, though suddenly she found she could barely speak.

He did not reply, but kept on walking, getting further ahead of her by the moment.

"I thought you cared about me!" she called after him, tears starting to form in her eyes.

He walked on until she was lost behind him in the crowd. She never saw the look of anguish on his own face, or heard the words he muttered slowly as she dissapeared behind him.

"I do," he said softly. "More than you know. And that's what scares me."


	3. Everybody's Searching for Something

CHAPTER II

EVERYBODY'S SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING...

A cold wind blew past Aeris as she followed Red on the narrow path that wound up the side of the mountain, with Reeve trailing behind. To the left and far below them she could see the snow laden trees that covered most of this region of the great glacier. They had spent the last two days plodding through that very forest, seaching for some sign of who they were looking for, but they had found nothing.

She looked up. The mountain rose above them, but not too much higher she could make out the pinnacle. It stood poised above them like a jutting finger, in stark contrast to the featureless slate grey sky surrounding it.

Aeris lowered her head and silently followed the others. It had been too long, she thought. They had waited too long to come back here. The one they were searching for could be far far away by now, anywhere really. Thinking about it logically that was the only conclusion that she could draw.

Still, she wasn't about to give up. After all, Red knew the odds as well as her, maybe better, but he showed no sign of having given up hope.

She turned and stopped to wait for Reeve to catch up. He caught up to her in a moment, panting slightly as he walked. They had covered a lot of ground in the last two days, and the toll was starting to show on him. He was not used to this much physical activity.

"Hey Red," she called. "How about we take a little break?"

Red turned to look back at them. She motioned toward Reeve. Red nodded that he understood.

"Okay," he said. "But let's go on a little further. This narrow trail will not be very comfortable. I think the path widens up ahead. I'd rather find a place out of the wind."

Aeris looked at Reeve.

"Don't worry about me," he said gamely. "Let's go."

He walked on ahead of her. She shrugged and followed. They turned a corner and the path grew steeper. The wind blew more strongly here, and it was colder than ever. Aeris lowered her head and pressed on. She couldn't help but think that maybe they should have stopped when she had suggested, but she couldn't blame Red for wanting to press onward.

"Man, it's cold," she heard Reeve mutter.

She looked at him sympathetically. It was clear that the going was a little more difficult than he had anticipated. To his credit, however, he had doggedly pressed on with them. And he had kept the complaining to a miminum.

"Not much further," she said reassuringly.

The trail twisted in a figure S ahead of them. Aeris looked at the cliff face beside them and saw that it was worn and cracked. Parts had broken off and rubble now littered the trial in front of them.

"Be careful," she said. "The ground here looks trecherous."

Even as she spoke one of the rocks Reeve stepped on broke apart. He stumbled and flailed wildly to try to keep his balance. Then with a cry he suddenly fell and tumbled over the edge!

"Reeve!" Aeris shouted.

Red turned at Aeris cry. They both ran to the edge and looked over.

The place where Reeve had fallen was not a sheer drop, but instead a steep slope. Reeve had slid down the slope in a shower of rocks and now lay precariously on a narrow ledge perhaps thirty yards below them. He was not moving.

They both stood there and looked at him, trying to discern how badly he was hurt. They couldn't tell much from this far away. After a minute or two, however, they saw move. He looked around and then slowly sat up.

"Reeve, are you okay?" Aeris called.

He looked up at them.

"I...I think so," he said hesitantly. He started to get up and then winced in pain, clutching his arm.

"My left arm is hurt," he said.

Red looked down at him and nodded. The slope down to him was too steep to negotiate. Actually, Red thought he had been lucky. A few feet more to the left and he would have missed the ledge and fallen into a deep chasm.

Aeris slipped off her backpack and opened it up, reaching in to haul out a long rope.

"We're coming to get you," she said.

She looped the rope around an outcrop of rock and threw it down toward Reeve. The other end landed on the ledge beside him.

Red came up next to her.

"It's my fault," he said. "We should have stopped. I am endangering you both."

"Don't be silly," she responded immediately. "You couldn't have known this would happen."

She pulled on the knot to make sure it was tight.

"Perhaps after we retrieve him I should go on alone," Red said slowly.

Aeris stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

"You're being ridiculous," she admonished. "We're not going to abandon you just because of a little adversity. Now stop this nonsense and give me a hand."

Red did not respond, but he came over and helped her with the rope. When they were sure it was secure she looked down at Reeve again.

"Okay," she told him. "I'm coming down."

Reeve waved an acknowlegdement.

She grabbed hold of the rope and swung herself off the path. She looked down for a moment and hesitated. They were very high up.

"Can you make it?" Red asked from above her. He would have gladly gone himself, but unfortunately his body was not designed for rope climbing.

"Yes," she said after a moment. She gritted her teeth and started down.

Once she got going she realized it wasn't that difficult. The mountainside was steep but not vertical. As long as she held onto the rope to steady herself she could almost walk down the slope. She went down quickly, but even so made sure she didn't look down again.

It didn't take her long to reach the ledge that Reeve stood on. It dropped off into space on her left but ran for perhaps fifteen feet on the other side of her. Reeve, feeling a little more comfortable as he saw her coming down to get him, had walked along the ledge as he waited for her. He now stood about ten feet away and pointed to the cliff face as she dropped onto the ledge.

"Hey, there's a cave here," he exclaimed.

She walked over to him and saw that there was a jagged opening in the cliff wall where he stood. It was narrow but wide enough to walk through. They couldn't see very far into it.

"Let me take a look at your arm," she said.

He sat down inside the opening so as to be out of the wind. She knelt down beside him and took hold of his arm. He winced.

"I think it might be broken," he said unhappily.

Aeris did not respond. She cradled his arm in her hands and bowed her head. She sat there silently for what seemed to Reeve to be a long time, but was really just a few moments. A gentle breeze suddenly seemed to waft through her hair. He felt it on his face, and it was cool but not cold. Not at all like the freezing wind he had felt all the way up the mountainside.

Suddenly the breeze increased until it swirled around them. But again there was no bite to it. If anything if felt refreshing to Reeve, and suddenly he realized that his arm no longer ached.

Aeris opened her eyes and stood up. He looked at his arm, and moved it back and forth. There was no pain.

"Thanks," he said.

Aeris smiled.

"You're welcome."

He started to get to his feet but then suddely noticed something drifting in the wind on the rocks next to him. He reached over and picked it up. He stood up and showed Aeris what looked like a tuft of red fur.

Aeris looked at it, then at him and her eyes widened.

"Do you think?" she said.

Reeve shrugged.

"I don't know, but I think we better get Red down here."

That was easier said than done. Eventually Reeve climbed back up, tied the rope around Red, and then lowered him down. Then he descended once more himself, this time a little more slowly than the first. But finally they all stood on the ledge.

Red immediatly walked over to the caven opening. He lifted his head and sniffed the air.

"She was here all right," he said immediately.

Aeris felt a rush of anticipation. Finally they had found something. But she realized this was no real reason to get excited. The one they were searching for could have been here many months ago, and might very likely be long gone by now.

Red padded into the cave and started sniffing the ground. Aeris and Reeve followed him in. It felt much better to be out of the cold wind. Aeris looked around her while Reeve sat down on a large stone.

"The scent is strong," Red stated. "Either she spent a lot of time here, or she was here recently."

He slowly walked deeper into the cave, fading almost from sight in the dim light.

"It leads down the tunnel," he said. "There must be a passageway that leads out again somewhere. That must be how she got up here in the first place."

He looked at them expectantly, obviously more anxious than ever to continue.

"Do you feel up to going on?" Aeris asked Reeve.

He nodded.

"I feel fine now," he replied and smiled reassuringly.

They followed Red as he led them deeper into the cavern. The tunnel went steeply downward, but not dangerously so. It twisted and turned, with many branches, and soon Aeris was totally lost, but Red never hesitated at any of the turn offs. The scent was leading him unnearringly onward.

Red pressed forward, energized by the fact that he had a plain trail to follow. For a while the anticipation gave Aeris and Reeve renewed energy as well, but as the hours passed and the tunnel continued on unvaringly, they began to tire once again. Soon Aeris called to Red to suggest a halt, and although obviously reluctant, he agreed.

They stopped in a rather large chamber that marked the intersection of three different tunnels. Reeve flopped down immediately against the wall of the carvern, mabye not quite exhauted, but close to it. Aeris sat down beside him, while Red paced nervously nearby.

"Sorry you came?" she asked as Reeve wiped the sweat from his brow. It was much warmer here in the caves, and they still had on their winter clothing, which made them uncomfortably warm. Still, it was better than the freezing wind they had felt on the mountainside, Reeve thought.

"No," he replied. "I'm just a little out of shape. I didn't realize how much. If you guys can put up with me for another week or so, I might be able to keep up."

Aeris smiled.

"You're not a burden," she responded.

She slipped off her backpack and turned to rummage through it for a water bottle.

Reeve turned at a sudden sound. One of the tunnels that led out of the cavern was right next to him. He looked down it as a dim form suddenly loomed into view.

The first thing he noticed were the eyes. Fierce yellow eyes that almost seemed to blaze with their own light. Below them a long muzzle filled with the second thing he noticed, long daggerlike teeth.

Reeve opened his mouth to speak but for some reason no words came out. All he seemed to be able to do was move his lips silently and point.

The wolf lunged towards him.

He suddenly found his voice and let out a terrified scream. He scrambled back madly on hands and knees to try to get out of it's way.

For a moment he was certain he was dead, but then the beast flashed past him, passing right in front of him, but for some reason ignoring him. Instead it charged straight at Aeris.

She was on her knees looking through her backpack when she heard Reeve cry out. She looked up and when she saw the beast she quickly turned and picked up the Princess Guard. She pivoted and swung just in time to hit it across the face and send it stumbling into the wall beside her.

Instantly it turned and sprang at her again. She brought up her rod, but the beast was too close to swing at now. Instead she held it between them, sliding it up against the wolf's neck as it attempted to rip at her throat. For a moment the stood unmoving, stalemated. But the wolf was much stronger than she. Slowly her arms were being forced back, and suddenly she felt the touch of it's hot breath on her neck.

In a flash of crimson Red suddenly leapt upon the wolf's back, knocking it over and off of her. Immediately she sprang up as Red tore at the beast with his claws. She scrambled over to help, Princess Guard ready, but the ferocity of Red's attack took all the fight out of the wolf, and it suddenly turned tail and ran, disappearing back down the tunnel that it had come from.

Red looked at Aeris

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Aeris nodded and turned to Reeve, who was still sitting on the ground where he had scrambled out of the way. She walked over to him and extended a hand to help him up. He took it and slowly got to his feet.

"The worst that could happen is we get a little cold, right," she said with a smile.

Reeve looked at her without a word, or the hint of a smile.

"C'mon," Red said. "I think it would be best if we found someplace else to rest."

* * *

Yuffie looked around as she entered the tent. Two men stood at the far end of it. One was an older man with brown hair and beard. The other had jet black hair and carried a huge sword acoss his back.

The older man looked at her and frowned.

"Who the hell is this?" he barked.

"This girl says she wishes to join us," the man who had escorted her in replied.

"My name is Yuffie Kisaragi," she said, stepping forward boldly. "I an a ninja and a theif from Wutai whose name is feared throughout the western continents. Perhaps you have heard of me?"

Bennis glanced at the man next to him. The Swordsman shrugged slightly. Yuffie saw that his eyes glowed from Mako infusion.

"No," Bennis said bluntly.

"I have been training as a ninja since before I could walk," she continued, unfazed. "And have been living off my theiving abilities for years as I have roamed the countryside. I doubt if you have anyone here who could match my skills."

Bennis looked at her skeptically.

"How did you find us?" he asked.

"I heard about your altercation with the convoy from the Gold Saucer," she replied. "I tracked you from there. It wasn't difficult."

"How do we know you're not some kind of spy for them?" he asked.

Yuffie laughed.

"If I was doing that do you think I would just walk in here alone?" she responded. "You killed everyone in the convoy. If I was working with Dio I would have come in here with a squadron of men and you all would be dead already."

Bennis rubbed his chin and looked at the Swordsman again, who suddenly clutched his head and staggered slightly.

"What's the matter with him?" Yuffie commented. "Little too much to drink last night?"

Bennis looked at the Swordsman in silence. The black haired man stood for a long moment without moving, then took a deep breath and looked up again.

"It is nothing," he said.

Bennis turned back to Yuffie.

"I don't know," he said looking at her thoughtfully. "How did you find out about me, and why do you want to join us, anyway?"

"After the convoy attack, your name has become famous throughout the region," she replied quickly. "Although I do usually work along, I thought it might be interesting to work with someone else who's skills are as exceptional as mine, not to mention profitable."

Bennis stood there for a long time without saying anything, just staring at her as if trying to take her measure. She returned his gaze unflinchingly. He looked at the Swordsman one more time. Some subliminal message seemed to pass between them, but she could not tell what it might be. Finally Bennis nodded.

"Very well," he said. "We'll give you a chance. Drago," he continued, speaking to the man who had escorted her in, and had stood in silence throughout the conversation. "take her outside and show her around."

A hint of a smile passed across Yuffie's face. She turned and walked out of the tent. As Drago was about to follow, Bennis stepped up to him and said softly, "take a few of the men and get rid of her."

Drago nodded and followed Yuffie out of the tent. Bennis turned to look at the Swordsman, who suddenly bent over, his hands once more holding his head.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Bennis exclaimed.

The Swordsman looked up once more, and Bennis could see that he was having difficulty controling the pain.

"It's just a headache," he said. "I'll be fine. I just need a little rest."

"Fine," Bennis said. "But don't take too long. We're breaking camp. If that little fool can find us, anyone can."

* * *

"Wait here a moment," Drago said. He walked over to a group of half a dozen men.

Yuffie glanced idely around the camp, not really interested. She had already found what she was looking for. That lumpy sack she had seen against the wall of Bennis' tent was almost certainly the materia orbs she had heard he had lifted from the convoy. Again a smile played on her lips. Things were going just as she had planned.

Drago walked back with three other men in tow.

"Okay, let's go," he said to her.

Yuffie found it odd they would need a crew of four to show her around.

They walked through the camp, Drago pointing out various features as they went. When the reached the end of it Drago led them into the woods beyond.

Yuffie looked back as the camp disappeared behind them.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We've got our loot hidden in the woods. I'll show you where it is," he replied.

"Okay," she responded. Her hand slowly dropped until it was beside her sherukin. It seemed unlikely to her that they would show a newcomer where their loot was hidden so soon. Besides, she had seen what she was pretty sure was their 'earnings' stored in Bennis' tent. Perhaps things weren't going quite as she had planned after all.

She stopped and suddenly spun around so that she had them all in front of her.

"You know," she said, "I don't think it's necessary for me to see where you store your loot. Besides, I've traveled a long way and I'm kind of tired. Why don't we just go back to camp. You can show me this some other time."

Drago looked at her, then at the others, as if not sure how to respond. He did not speak for a moemnt.

"It's not much farther," he said finally.

"That may be but I suddenly feel exhausted," she said. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

"Oh, I don't know what's gotten into me," she continued. "I really need to get some rest. Let's just go back."

Drago did not reply. He looked at her and then at the others again. Then he nodded his head slowly. The group fanned out and started toward her slowly.

She backed away, looking at them closely.

"Was it something I said?"

Drago pulled a dagger from his belt. She saw that the others were similarly armed. She whipped out her sherukin and flung it at the nearest man, then turned and bolted into the trees.

"After her!" Drago shouted. They all ran after her, the one she had wounded with her sherukin falling behind quickly.

She ran in a straight line until she lost them from view, then turned sharply. She ran on for a few minutes, until she came across a narrow creek. She stopped to catch her breath, listening for any pursuit, but she heard nothing. That had been easy enough, she thought.

She heard a 'thunk' and a dagger suddenly appeared in a tree she was standing next to. She turned and darted away again as she heard someone shout "There she is!"

She ran on, turning in random directions as she went, but she could not seem to shake her pursuers.

The ground sloped up sharply in front of her. She looked around. The men had fanned out behind her again. She could see someone to her left and right, but they did not seem to be closing. They were trying to pen her in.

She put on a burst of speed and ran up the hill. She came out of the trees and stopped suddenly. The ground dropped away in a sheer cliff in front of her.

She turned to face her pursuers. Drago stepped out of the woods, no longer running. The other two came out on either side of her. She was trapped.

She turned again and looked down the cliff. It was sheer with few handholds, and the bottem was littered with jagged rocks. She couldn't escape that way.

She looked at Drago. He smiled evilly.

"You're making a big mistake," she said quickly. "My father is the Lord of Wutai. If he finds out you've killed me he'll send his entire army here to destroy you."

Drago looked at his companions.

"I won't tell him if you don't," he said to them.

They continued to close in.

"You better stay away," she said menacingly. "I'm a trained ninja. I can kill you faster than you could snap your fingers."

They were only a few paces away now. She backed up until she stood at the very edge of the cliff.

"Can we just talk about this for a minute?" she tried.

There was a flash, and suddenly Drago was hit by a blast of electic power. He cried out and fell to the ground. Yuffie looked past him to see Reno holding his nightstick, with Rude and Elena standing beside him.

Her mouth opened in surprise.

Drago's companions turned and launched themselves at the Turks, but Rude and Elena easily dodged their attacks, and quickly dispatched them. In a moment Yuffie and the Turks were the only ones standing.

"Looks like were starting to make it a habit of rescuing you," Reno observed, looking at Yuffie.

"You didn't rescue me," she answered immediately.

"Oh, and I suppose the fact that they were about to kill you was just your way of lulling them into a false sense of security," Reno observed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"We're looking for a man named Bennis," Elena replied. "He's stolen some property of the Gold Saucer. Dio hired us to get it back, and to teach him a little lesson."

Reno looked at Elena disapprovingly.

"Elena, there's no need to tell everyone we meet what we are doing here. Especially this big mouth brat. It's really none of her business."

"I do not have a big mouth," Yuffie protested loudly.

Reno just looked at her.

"I don't have to ask what you're doing here," he stated. "You must be after Bennis' materia. Let me tell you something, you're way out of your league. Bennis is ruthless. We've been watching his camp for a few days now. I couldn't believe you were stupid enough to just walk right into it. Why don't you just go back to Wutai and leave this to us."

"I can take care of myself," she shot back defiantly.

"And you've done a fine job so far," Rude commented.

"I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for," she replied.

Reno shook his head.

"All you're going to do is get yourself killed," he said. "But suit yourself. If that's what you want, fine. Just don't expect us to come to your rescue the next time."

"I told you I can take care of myself," she repeated.

"Yeah, right," Reno said. He turned to the others. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Yuffie stood silently as they started back down the hill. But suddenly she ran to catch up with them.

"Hey wait a second," she said. "It looks like we're both after the same thing. Why don't we team up?"

Reno looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

"Team up with you? Don't make me laugh."

"Well why not?" she replied. "I admit I'd be lowering my standards to team up with you, but I'm willing to give it a shot."

"Lowering your standards?" Reno said with indignation. "Why you conceited little twerp. The fact of the matter is the only reason you're still around to argue is that we saved your ass. And I'm begining to regret that we ever did."

"Hey, what happened to the other one?" Rude questioned suddenly.

"Huh?" Yuffie said.

"We saw four men take you into the woods," Rude said, "but there are only three here. What happened to the other one?"

"I took him out with my sherukin," Yuffie replied confidently.

"Are you sure?" Elena said. "I though I saw four of them when we were coming up the hill."

"Yes I'm sure," Yuffie replied, as if shocked that Elena would doubt her at all.

Reno looked around.

"Well, we better get out of here. If the fourth one went back and warned the others we could have the whole camp coming down on us. Let's go."

"What about her?" Elena said.

Reno looked at Yuffie.

"You're on your own," he said firmly.

He started to walk away again.

"I've been in their camp. I know the layout of Bennis's tent," Yuffie said suddenly.

Reno stopped and slowly turned toward her. He looked at her for a long time without saying anything. Finally he nodded.

"All right, you can tag along. Unlikely as it seems, you might prove to be of some use. Just try and stay out of trouble. Remember, you're with the Turks, not on some picnic with your friends."

Yuffie saluted.

"Aye aye, Captain," she said, walking past him. She turned.

"Well, are we going to get out of here or not?"

She turned again and led the way back into the woods. Reno shook his head and the Turks followed.

"What have I gotten myself into," he muttered.

* * *

The man Yuffie had wounded had almost reached the top of the hill when the Turks had fallen upon his comrades. He stopped for a moement when he saw them, then turned and headed as quickly as he could back to the camp. Bennis wasn't going to be happy with this news. Apparently there were more people tracking them than anyone had suspected. He had to get back to tell them.

He reached the creek that Yuffie had paused by and quickly splashed across. When he reached the other side he heard a sudden sound.

The bullet struck him in the side of his head. He fell backward and landed face down in the creek. The water turned red around him.

Vincent stepped out of the nearby tress and and looked around. He slipped the silencer off his pistol, and then quicky faded back into the shadows.

* * *

Cloud sat in the backroom of Tifa's bar, staring out the window. It was dark in the room, and he could see the lights in the house across the street shining in the night outside.

Things had been quiet the last couple of days. He had had some headaches, but nothing incapacitating. He actually felt a little silly about the whole thing. Because of him neither he nor Tifa were able to help Red in his search. He wondered how Aeris was doing.

He had thought about going to join them, but though the headaches were not bad, that wasn't to say that he felt fine. It still seemed to him that something was not quite right. He felt...disoriented was the best word he could come up with. There seemed to be a strange buzzing in the back of his head that just would not go away. And even though it was not painful, it's constant presense was annoying.

Tifa had made sure he got some rest and had given him herbal tea whenever the headaches had been the worst, which did seem to help a little. The truth was that he was glad she had stayed with him, though he hadn't told her so.

A gust of wind stirred up a cloud of dust outside the window, momentarily dimming the light from across the street.

Something dripped onto his leg.

He looked at his thigh and saw a dark stain spreading on his pants.

He looked up. A red liquid was pooling through the floorboards in the ceiling above.

He stood up, a puzzled expression on his face, and a knot of fear suddenly forming in his stomach. He walked into the next room and look up the staircase.

"Tifa?" he called out.

There was no answer.

He hurried up the steps. He stopped at the top, listening, even though he really didn't know what he was listening for.

"Tifa," he called out again, tentatively.

Silence.

He started slowly down the hall. Tifa's room was at the end of it, the door closed. A dim red light could be seen at the foot of the door. As he walked forward he saw dark red smears along the walls.

He increased his pace until he found himself suddenly running down the hall. He stopped at her door and reached out to grab the handle. He hesitated for just a moment, acutely aware of the trembling of his hand. Then he pulled the door open.

Carnage.

His friends bodies lay scattered across the room, awash in blood. He could see glimpses of some of their faces. Barret, Cid, Vincent, but some were unrecognizable, ripped...

He slammed the door and leaned against it, gasping for breath as a wave of nausea almost overwhelmed him.

He heard the sound of laughter behind him, and the sound froze his soul.

He turned and saw Sephiroth standing in the hallway. Tifa was on her knees in front of him. One of his hands grasped her shoulder, the other held his sword.

"Did you really think you could ever get away from me?" he asked, the words reverberating ominously in the narrow hallway.

"Sephiroth," he said softly.

Sephiroth laughed again.

"Did you enjoy the little display I left for you in there? They are all better off now, of course. I sent them to where you tried so hard to send me, but you cannot get rid of me that easily. You can never get rid of me. I am a part of you."

He brought his sword up and held it poised about Tifa's head.

He lifted his own head and looked straight into Cloud's eyes.

_"I am you."_

He drove the sword brutally downward into Tifa's chest.

"NO!" Cloud screamed and sat bolt upright in his chair.

He looked around, disoriented. The light from the nearby houses still gleamed out the window beside him.

Tifa rushed into the room.

"Cloud, are you all right?" she said.

He looked around for a moment, as if unsure of where he was, then he nodded slowly.

She knelt down beside him and put her hand on his arm. He grasped her hand in his own and squeezed it with surprising fiercness. She looked at him in surprise, but then saw the shadow of fear in his eyes.

"It was just...a dream," he said slowly, looking up at her. He sat there for a moment, just staring at her, but she could not read the look he was giving her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she suggested gently.

He shook his head.

He couldn't tell her what he had seen. Did not even want to think about it himself. It wasn't so much the dream that disturbed him, but the vividness of it. It had all seemed so very real. Not like a dream at all, but instead a vision, or a prophecy.

He shrank back from that thought, knowing that path led to maddness. But one thought came to him, unbidden.

He had not had visions like these since Sephiroth...

He didn't want to think about that either.

Tifa was still staring at him. He managed a faint smile.

"I'm all right now," he said. "It was just a dream. It's all over."

He released her hand, then patted it reassuringly. She looked at him for a moment longer, then nodded and stood up. In spite of his words she could see that he was still shook up, and that the dream had left quite an impression. Since Aeris ressurection Cloud had seemed free of the shadows that had dogged him for so long. Free of Shinra and the influence of Sephiroth, and the visions. But now, for some reason and after all this time, old fears seemed to be returning. Helping Cloud piece his life back together had been one of the hardest things she had ever had to do, and now that she thought he had finally put it behind him it seemed that he was suddenly going in the wrong direction. Cloud had worked so long and hard to straighten out his life, they both had. She didn't know if she could handle him falling apart again.

She looked at him again, but he was just staring off into space, not paying any attention to her anymore. He had done that often in the past too.

She bowed her head and turned away. She glanced out the window and saw the wind kick up again, and though she could not feel it she knew it was a cold wind. A wind that blew straight through her heart, and she suddenly realized that she was very much afraid.


	4. Conspiracy Theory

CHAPTER III

CONSPIRACY THEORY

Red led his companions slowly eastward along a dry river bed. They had traveled clear under the mountain the other night and come out on the southern side. The mountain range now blocked the arctic wind that blew in from the north. There was no snow here and the weather was much milder.

Even out in the open, however, Red was still able to follow the scent. It had led them in a generally eastern direction all morning. They had stopped twice to take a break so far, and each time Red had paced impatiently as the others rested. It took almost all his stength of will to not race down the trail as fast as his legs could carry him. The scent was strong. He knew she could not be far ahead.

He looked back as his companions. They were making the best speed they could with only two legs to carry them. They had both been unusually silent all morning.

Aeris walked along beside Reeve. The riverbed ran through a forest of tall pine trees, and they could not see very far in any direction. Still she knew that somewhere to the south of them lay Bone Village.

She looked ahead. She could see a line of hills through the trees in front of them, blurred to a uniform blue grey in the distance. If they kept on as the had already this morning, they would probably reach them by early evening.

And the next day what lay beyond.

Aeris shivered as if struck by a sudden chill, but the air was warm around them, and there was no sign of any breeze. All morning she had hoped that the trail would turn away to the north or south, but it had kept in a straight line, almost due east, directly at the line of hills ahead of them. And then just over them...

The City of the Ancients.

The place where she...

She found herself shying away from the thought, trying to get herself to believe it had never happened at all. But she knew that was not true.

The place where she died.

Would the memories be more vivid there, she wondered. Would her emotions be stronger?

Would the blade feel sharper?

He hand rose unbidden to her chest, but the flesh there was smooth and unmarred. She had seen Tifa's scar, the mark Sephiroth had left on her for life. But her own skin was untouched. The journey through the lifestream had removed all outward signs of injury.

Her scars were inside.

She had felt the sword in her back. Like someone had shoved her forward. A sharp pain, but not exceptionally severe. Then looking down, more in disbelief than fear, to see the blade protruding from her chest. Realizing, as the world slowly went grey around her, that this was a wound that she could not possibly survive. Knowing that all her plans, her dreams, her life, were over.

The last thing she recalled was the look of horror on Cloud's face.

They came over a small rise and the ground dipped sharply in front of them. Ahead Aeris could see that the trees fell away to reveal scattered grassland covering the bottem of a wide valley.

They walked down lower into the valley and out of the forest. The hills in the distance disappeared below the trees on the far side of the valley, and with them went her unease. She had to head back to Rocket Town to be at Shera's baby shower tomorrow. Even if the path led to the City of the Ancients, she would not be following it.

She looked at Reeve. He plodded along silently beside her. He had not spoken a word the entire morning. Actually, none of them had said much all day. She had been caught up in her own melencholy, and she knew Red only had one thought on his mind. Now that she thought about it, Reeve had not said much at all since the incident the night before in the cave.

"How you doing?" she asked.

Reeve shrugged.

"Fine," he replied.

It was pretty obvious that something was bothering him.

"Something on your mind?" she tried again.

He looked at her for a moment and shook his head slightly.

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. She was about to try yet again when he spoke.

"When I was controlling Cait, this all just seemed like a game to me. We had adventures, we fought, but none of it was real. There was no pain involved, and if worst came to worst, and Cait was destroyed, well, I could always have another one built and continue on as if nothing had happened. But it's not like that now."

He shook his head slowly.

"I guess I just thought I could continue the same way I had used Cait. I thought I would fight bravely beside you. After all, you are all real, and you did it."

He looked at her carefully, but she said nothing.

"But it didn't work out that way at all, did it? When that wolf came at me, I was so frightened I couldn't even speak to warn you. I would have given anything to get away from it. If I had been holding you in my arms I would have thrown you in front of it to save myself. I felt relieved when it went after you."

Aeris looked at him sympathetically. If she hadn't been all wrapped up in her own thoughts she would have realized.

"It's perfectly natural to want to preserve you own life," she said. "You have no weapon, and your fists certainly wouldn't have been of any use against the wolf's teeth. Considering the circumstances, I would say you did the wisest thing."

He looked at her in a way that made it clear that her answer was unsatisfactory.

"Let me ask you this," he replied. "If you had no weapon, and the wolf had attacked me, would that have stopped you from coming to my aid?"

He went on without waiting for her to answer.

"Did Red pause for a moment when the wolf was at your throat? Of course he didn't. He came to your aid immediately, without even thinking about the consequences, or the danger he was putting himself in. But I just sat there on the floor."

He looked down and shook his head slowly.

"I should never have come."

"It's foolish to judge yourself on one incident," Aeris told him. "I think you're being too hard on yourself. We all get scared. You can learn to function that way, but it takes time. Give yourself a chance."

Reeve sighed.

"I'd like to believe that, but I'm not so sure. When I worked for Shinra, I knew what they were doing was wrong. But did I try to do something about it? No. While you guys were out risking your lives trying to stop them I was being the good soldier doing what I was told. Even when I protested, if I thought I was going too far, I backed off, because I was afraid."

"But you did fight against them," she reminded him. "Sure, you did it through Cait, but that doesn't change the fact that you were risking your own life if Shinra had found out."

Reeve shrugged. He understood what Aeris was trying to say, and had to admit she might even be right. But that didn't make him feel any better about his actions back in the cave.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up," he said. "But I'm afraid there really isn't anything you can say. I can only hope that we stay out of trouble the rest of the trip. I'm afraid I will not be of much use if anything else happens."

"Give yourself a little time," she responded. "You just might surprise yourself."

Red was ahead of them, as usual, but not too far. As he scanned the valley around them he spotted something near the treeline on the hillside ahead of them.

"There!" he said.

Aeris and Reeve looked up, surprised by this sudden exclaimation. They saw the red beast on the hill ahead almost immediately. Aeris let out a small gasp of excitement. After all this time chasing the creature, she felt a thrill to finally get to see her.

She was moving slowly up the slope towards the trees that stood just above her. She was moving slowly, seemingly in no hurry, apparently unaware of her pursuers. She was too far away to see any details, but she seemed to be an exact duplicate of Red.

Red paused for a moment, and Aeris thought he was about to let out a howl, when suddenly the unmistakable retort of a gun echoed through the valley.

The red beast in front of them suddenly bolted into the trees and was immediately lost from view.

Aeris looked across the valley floor. She hadn't noticed him come out of the woods, but now they all saw a man standing just below the trees on the northern slope of the hill, about thirty yards away from them. He held a rifle in his hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aeris yelled angrily.

The man turned to look at them. As soon as he saw Red he raised his gun again and pointed it at him.

"Watch out lady!" he yelled.

Aeris leaped in front of Red.

"Put that gun down, you idiot!" she shouted.

The man did not move for a long time, but then slowly lowered his gun and started walking over to them.

"Lady," he said, as he approached. "Do you know that there is a wild beast standing behind you?"

"I may be a little frisky at times," Red observed, "but I would hardly call myself wild."

The man stopped and his mouth dropped open.

"It talks?"

"Of course he talks," Aeris said. "This is Nanaki, the guardian of Cosmo Canyon. He's as intelligent as any human, more than most in fact," she finished, looking at him pointedly.

He looked at Red and rubbed his chin.

"Cosmo Canyon, huh," he said slowly. "Now that you mention it I do remember hearing something about that. What are you doing here, you're a long way from Cosmo Canyon. My name's Dannako"

"Well Mr. Dannako," she replied. "We're trying to find the person you just took a shot at."

"Person?" he replied. "I wouldn't go that far. Now matter how smart it may be, that creature is still a beast, one I've never seen the like of before. I can get a pretty penny for that pelt. And it's just Dannako."

Red growled low in his throat.

Dannako readied his gun.

Aeris raised her rod.

"Don't you dare touch him," she said evenly.

The man looked at her. He was well over six feet tall, with a loaded rifle in his hands, and here this...this girl, barely reaching up to his shoulder, seemd ready to go toe to toe with him. He smiled in spite of himself.

"Aren't you the feisty one," he commented. "Okay, I promise to leave your pet alone, but the other one is fair game."

This did not satisfy Aeris at all.

"You don't seem to understand," she said. "These are not beasts, they are thinking, intelligent beings who have every right to live as much as you do. Besides, these two may be the last of their species. If you kill one they will become extinct."

"Oh great," he replied. "You must be one of those 'save the whales' people. It they go extinct it will because it was meant to be, not because of me. It's survival of the fittest, right? If they're not fit to survive, is that my fault? All I know is I have to hunt to put food on my own table, and that skin will put a lot of food on it."

"Killing either one of them would be murder," Reeve stated.

"Oh please," he retorted, looking at Reeve distainfully. "So call security. No matter how clever they may be they are still animals. I don't care if they're smart or not. Like I told you before, all I'm interested in is the gil."

Aeris looked at him in disgust.

"You make me sick," she stated.

He shrugged.

"I feel real bad about that," he replied. "Well, I guess I'd better be on my way. I don't want to fall too far behind. I don't suppose you'd be interested in selling me the one you've got."

Aeris couldn't believe he had the gall to ask such a question.

He saw the look on her face.

"Didn't think so," he said with a smile.

He turned and walked swiftly away, headed in the direction they had seen the other red beast disappear.

Aeris turned to look at the others, still fuming. Red looked at her grimly.

"If he harms her I will not rest until he has paid."

Aeris nodded.

"I understand your feelings," she replied. "But I'd rather not have it come to that. We'll just have to make sure we find her first."

"How are we going to do that?" Reeve questioned. "He's already got a head start."

Aeris looked at Dannako once more. He was walking up the slope just short of the trees.

"I don't know how good a tracker he is," she said, "but we've still got something he doesn't. Red's nose. He can't go very fast while he's following her trail. We can circle around and pick up her scent ahead of him."

Reeve nodded.

"Let's get going then," Red said and headed for the trees immediately.

Aeris and Reeve followed. They both realized that this might be the only chance for Red to ever find another of his kind. With that in mind their own problems had suddenly faded to unimportance. Somehow, they had to reach her first.

* * *

"We must head west."

Altim looked up to see Bennis and the Swordsman standing in front of Bennis' tent. They seemed to be having some kind of argument.

"So you've said," Bennis replied, shaking his head. "But you haven't given me a single good reason why."

"I told you, I don't know why. I just know we have to head west, I need to go that way."

Bennis laughed humorlessly.

"So you're saying it's just a feeling? The only person who's feelings I trust is me. And I say we stay right here. The traffic between Corel and Costa del Sol is good, and the protection is minimal. I think this is the perfect spot from which to run our operations for quite a while."

The Swordsman was obviously not pleased with this response.

"There's plenty of traffic to the west as well," he replied. "And nobody has protection anymore. We have to go to Nibelheim."

"Nibelheim?" Bennis said in surprise. "What the hell would you want to go there for? There's nothing of significance there except for a team of scientists studying the notes from that Jenova project thing of Shinra's. There's nothing of value there at all."

"I have to go there," the Swordsman said sharply, and for the first time his voice held a hint of menace.

Bennis looked at him darkly.

"I'm in command here," he said immediately. "We go where I say we go. Don't forget that if it wasn't for me, your bones would be bleaching on the hills outside of Midgar. I say we stay right here!"

The Swordsman looked at him for a long time without speaking.

"I guess I'll just have to go myself then," he said finally.

"Oh no you don't," Bennis replied angrily. "When you sign up with me you sign up for life. I won't have anybody walking away. I know how to deal with traitors!"

"I'm not a traitor," the Swordman protested. "I just want..."

Bennis held up his hand.

"The matter is not open to discussion," he said with finality. Then he turned and stalked into his tent.

The Swordsman stood unmoving for a long time, and though he looked disspationate Altim could tell from the cold look in his eye that he was angry, angrier than Altim had ever seen him. He hadn't know the Swordsman for long, but he had known him long enough to know that he was the one person in camp that Altim would not want to get angry.

The Swordsman suddenly turned and stepped into Bennis' tent. Altim could hear Bennis say something, but he could not tell what. The heavy material of the tent dulled the sound, but it sounded like an exclaimation of surprise. Then there were more words exchanged, and though he could not hear them clearly he could tell that Bennis was angry now as well.

Suddenly he heard a shout from Bennis and the clash of steel. He looked up in surprise. He took a step toward the tent but then stopped. There were half a dozen other men nearby, and they must have heard it too, but not one of them even lifted their heads to glance at the tent.

He heard someone cry out in pain, and then there was silence.

He stood there for a moment. None of the other men seemed to be paying any attention. He started toward the tent once more, slowly. When he was a few paces away the tent flap opened and the Swordsman stepped out, his sword in his hand. The bottem of it was covered with blood.

The Swordsman looked around the camp, his eyes falling last on Altim, who was closest to him.

"Get your gear together," he said loudly. "We're breaking camp and heading west."

* * *

"Well, that takes care of half our problem," Elena commented.

They stood in the remains of Bennis' camp, looking down at the remains of Bennis.

"Umm," Reno stated absently. Someone had apparently done them a favor, and he was pretty sure who. They had seen the Swordsman many times while observing the camp. Looks like he had staged a little coup.

Actually, Reno really wasn't all that pleased with this turn of events. They still had to recover the stolen items, and Reno didn't think this would make things any easier. They had been studying the patterns of the camp, learning their opponents habits, but now everything would almost certainly change. Everything they had learned so far could now be tossed out the window. With a new leader came new habits, they would have to start again from scratch.

Besides, Reno had a feeling this Swordsman would be a much more dangerous opponent than Bennis had been. Yuffie had told him what she had seen, the glow in his eyes. Reno knew as well as anyone that someone who had been in SOLDIER would be a formidable enemy. And that odd sword he carried, Reno didn't like that at all. He thought it a strange coincidence that it seemed identical to the one carried by Cloud Strife. He felt it was a bad omen.

Still, that wasn't about to stop him. They were Turks, they had dealt with difficult opponents before.

He turned to look at Yuffie.

"Looks like we don't need you anymore," he stated.

Yuffie looked at him angrily.

"Fine," she retorted. "You're just wasting my time anyway. All we've done since I've joined you is sit around and watch the camp. If I was by myself I would have the materia and be back in Wutai celebrating by now."

"If you were by yourself you'd probably have already joined our friend Bennis here in the great beyond," he replied. "You tried walking blindly into their camp once already and it nearly got you killed. You have to observe your enemy and come up with a plan."

"And what's your plan?" she asked. "To sit here and wait until they all die of old age?"

"Now listen you little..." he started, but then Elena came up and tugged him on the shoulder.

"What?" he said sharply, turning toward her.

"Maybe it would be better if we kept her with us," Elena said softly. "If we let her go off on her own, she's just going to get herself in trouble, and probably alert them that they are being tracked. If we keep her with us we can at least keep an eye on her."

Reno thought it over for a minute, then nodded.

"I suppose," he replied. "Though I don't think even having her stay with us will keep her out of trouble."

He turned back toward Yuffie.

"All right, I guess you can stay with us."

Yuffie just looked at him.

"Maybe I don't want to now," she said petulantly.

Reno threw his arms in the air.

"Do whatever the hell you want!" he said angrily. "We're leaving. You can follow us or fall down a hole and die. I really don't care either way!"

He turned and stalked off towards the woods. Elena and Rude followed. Elena smiled in spite of herself. It was good to see someone get under Reno's skin for a change.

She looked back to see that Yuffie was following them. As she turned forward once more she thought she caught a glimpse of movement in the forest off to her left. She looked that way again, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She was almost sure she had seen something move, something large enough to be a human.

She continued to stare for a minute or two, but nothing moved there now. If there had been anything there at all, it was probably nothing more than some wild animal. She shrugged and hurried to catch up with Reno.

* * *

"You go home, Mikko, I'll finish up here," Tifa said, clearing the glasses from one of the tables.

Mikko looked up from the table she was clearing herself.

"Okay, Miss. Lockheart. Thank you."

Tifa smiled. Mikko was a good kid and a hard worker, but she did seem to have an obsession with formality. She must have told her a million times already that it was just Tifa.

She couldn't help but think how much better Mrs. Strife would have sounded.

She shook her head and smiled faintly. She was letting her imagination run away with itself.

She glanced over to where Cloud was sitting, and her smile disappeared. He was in the corner of the room, by the window, but he was not looking out it. He was just sitting there staring at nothing in particular, had been for almost an hour.

Mikko went over to the closet and got her pocketbook and jacket. She walked over to the door and turned towards them.

"Good night, Miss. Lockheart, Mr. Strife."

"Good night, Mikko," Tifa replied.

Cloud said nothing.

Mikko stepped out the door and it closed behind her.

Tifa finished picking up the glasses and brought them into the kitchen. When she returned to the room Cloud had not moved.

"Cloud, are you all right?" she asked gently.

He did not respond.

"Cloud?"

He turned to look at her.

"I'm fine," he said emotionlessly.

She looked at him, hoping he would say more, but he did not. He had not had anymore bad dreams, but she could tell by the way he held his head on occasion that the headaches were bothering him still, and seemed to be getting worse. He hadn't said more than two words all day long.

"I'll make you some tea," she said, starting to walk back into the kitchen.

"I'm not interested," he replied. He suddenly stood up and walked across the room and up the stairs.

She sighed, feeling suddenly helpless. It was obvious there was something wrong with him, but she had no idea what it was, or what she could do about it.

Cloud came back down the stairs a few moments later, his sword strapped to his back. He walked past her without a word and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out," he replied.

"Out where?"

He didn't answer. As he reached the door she ran up beside him.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

He looked at her, a look of surprise on his face that quickly turned to anger.

"I don't need any company," he responded.

"I don't care," she said firmly. "I'm coming anyway."

His eyes blazed with a sudden cold light.

"I don't want you to come with me," he said harshly.

"Cloud, please," she said. "Something is wrong. I'm worried about you."

"Worried about me?" he said. "Or spying on me?"

"What are you talking about?" she said. He didn't seem to be making any sense.

"You heard me," he said grimly. "All this time you've feigned concern for me, it was really just an excuse to keep an eye on me, wasn't it? You don't really care about me at all, you're just using me."

Tifa involutarily took a step back. She had never seen Cloud look at her like this. His eyes glowed with a cold anger that she had never seen before. Then she realized that was not true, she had seen that look before, but it had been in the green glowing eyes of Sephiroth.

"Cloud, what are you taking about?" she said, and suddenly, in spite of the fact that she knew it was not really him talking, she felt tears stinging her eyes.

"This has all been a trick," he continued, stepping toward her slowly. "A trick by you and Avalanche to keep me here. To keep me from doing what I have to do. But you won't stop me. I see through your little charade."

"Cloud, please," she said.

He suddenly reached back and pulled out his sword. He held it between them, poised inches from her chest.

"I won't let you stop me," he muttered.

He raised the sword about his head.

"Cloud, stop," she said desperately. "You're being controlled somehow. It's happening again. I don't know why or how, but you have to fight it. Cloud, please!"

The cold look in his eyes did not change, but the sword hesitated in the air for a moment. He stood there for an instant, poised above her. Then she saw sudden resolve in his eyes.

The sword slashed down.

And embedded itself in the bannister beside her.

She turned and bolted up the stairs.

She ran straight to her room, the tears flowing uncontrollably now. She went into the room and slammed the door behind her. She opened her dresser and pulled out clothes, throwing them unconcerned onto the floor, until she found what she sought. She pulled out the PHS.

She waited for a moment, then heard Barret's gruff voice at the other end.

"Yeah?"

"Barret," she said hurridly, not even attempting to hide the desperation in her voice. "It's Cloud, he's...there's something wrong with him. I think it's starting all over again. He went crazy. It's like he's not himself anymore. He had that look in his eye, and Oh God, I don't know what to do anymore. I don't think I can take this."

"Calm down," Barret said, his voice filled with concern. He had never before heard her sound so hysterical. "What exactly has he done?"

Tifa stopped for a minute and took a deep breath. Then she related to Barret what had just happened.

When she was almost finished the door suddenly opened. Barret heard her sharp intake of breath.

"Tifa, are you all right?" he said immediately.

She didn't answer. Cloud stood in the doorway, unarmed. He looked at her and she could see his eyes now held tears of their own, with no hint of madness.

"Tifa, I'm sorry," he said, obviously struggling to speak.

"Do you want me to come over there?" she heard Barret ask.

She said nothing, just stood there looking at Cloud for a long time. He made no move to come closer to her.

"No," she said finally. "I think it's all over now. Besides, from Corel it would take you hours to get here, and it's late at night. We'll see you tomorrow at the baby shower."

Barret did not really seem happy about her response.

"You sure?"

She looked at Cloud again.

"Yes, I think so. I...I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay then," Barret said reluctantly. "But if anything else happens, you call me immediately, understand."

"Yes, I do. Thank you. Bye."

She put down the PHS. Cloud slowly entered the room.

"Tifa, I don't know what happened to me," he said slowly, the anguish plain in his eyes. "Somethings wrong. It's all coming back to haunt me, and I don't know why. I don't know what to do about it, and I don't know if I can control it."

She said nothing.

"I'm sorry for what I said. It wasn't me talking, you know that."

She looked at him for a moment more, then nodded and walked over to him. She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, but then he suddenly grabbed hold of her and squeezed her so tightly that for a moment she thought she was being hugged by Barret.

"I would rather die myself than see you hurt."

For a long time she said nothing, not even breathing for fear that it would spoil the moment. Wishing that she could stretch out time and make this moment somehow last forever.

But of course she couldn't.

He slowly let her go, then reached up and wiped away her tears.

"So what are we going to do?" she finally said.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "I guess we should go to Cosmo Canyon. I know Red isn't there, but they still have the most scholars and knowledge of anyone around. They may be able to tell us something."

Tifa nodded. It was as good an idea as any she could think of. One thing she knew, anything was better than doing nothing.

"What about the baby shower?" she asked.

"Well, Rocket Town is kind of along the way. I guess it won't hurt to stop there first. You've already missed out on enough because of me."

She smiled.

"I just want you to get better," she said.

"I know," he replied. "I know I'm not the only one affected by this. The truth is it hurts me more to see what this is doing to you than to myself. I just hope we can find some answers."

Tifa nodded. She hoped so too.

He stepped back.

"Okay, it's settled. We better get some rest then. It's already pretty late, and we'll need to get an early start."

She nodded. He walked slowly toward the door, glancing back as he reached it. She sat down on the bed and looked at him.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

She started to speak but then changed her mind. She looked down at the ground.

"I...I'd rather not be alone tonight," she said softly.

He looked at her for a long time without saying anything. She looked up at him again, but his face was expressionless.

"I'm afraid...," he started, and this time it was his turn to have difficulty speaking. "I'm afraid of what I might do."

She bowed her head again and nodded. He slowly turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly. She sat there for a long time without moving, then slowly lay down, curling up into a ball and staring at the far wall. It took her a long time to finally drop off to sleep.


	5. Forget the Aspirin, Is There a Psychiatr

CHAPTER IV

FORGET THE ASPIRIN, IS THERE A PSYCHIATRIST IN THE HOUSE?

"Are we early?"

"Not at all," Shera replied. "Barret's here already. Come on in."

Even as she spoke, Barret and Cid walked in the room from the other direction.

"Cloud, Tifa," Barret said, "You made it."

He came over and hugged Tifa, then slapped Cloud roughly on the shoulder.

"How are you doing?" He looked at Tifa. "You scared me half to death last night. I never heard you sound like that before."

Tifa flushed and did not respond. She prided herself on staying in control. She was embarrassed that she had gone to pieces like that, no matter what the reason.

Cid crushed out a cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"Hey," he said. "I've made some modifications on the Slipstream. C'mon and take a look."

Tifa looked at him wryly.

"The proud pappa," she muttered.

Shera laughed.

"I just hope he's as enthusiastic about the child," she replied. She looked at Cid. "They hardly got here, give them a chance to sit down and relax."

"They can sit down in the plane," Cid retorted.

"You guys go on," Tifa suggested. "I'll stay here and give Shera a hand with the cooking. I'm sure Cid hasn't been of much help in that regard."

"He's only good at consuming it," Shera agreed quickly.

Tifa followed Shera into the kitchen as the guys went out the back. In a few minutes they heard the engines of the Slipstream roar to life.

Shera shook her head.

"The man just loves his toys," she observed.

"Boys will be boys," Tifa commented.

"I guess I shouldn't complain," Shera said. "I knew long before now what he was like."

Tifa glanced at Shera as she took some plates out of the cabinet. It seemed just yesterday that she thought Cid was dedicated to being a bachelor. Now, not only were he and Shera married, but they were about to have a baby. She couldn't help but be envious.

"You're so lucky," she found herself saying.

Shera stopped and looked at her sympathetically.

"How are things between you and Cloud?" she asked.

Tifa turned away and looked out the window. This was not something she was comfortable discussing.

"You shouldn't be shy about it," Shera stated, looking at Tifa knowingly. "Everyone knows how you feel about him."

Tifa turned red and looked at Shera with a mixture of embarassment and surprise.

"Everyone?" she questioned.

"All right, maybe not everyone," Shera conceded. "Let me ask you this, have you said anything to him?"

Tifa turned away again, redder than ever.

"Can we talk about something else?" she said halfheartedly.

Shera came over and put her hand on Tifa's shoulder.

"Sometimes guys need a kick in the pants to get them going," she said. "I had to leave Cid to get him to realize that he really did love me."

"I couldn't do that," Tifa said quietly.

"I'm not saying you should," Shera replied. "But you should tell him how you feel."

Tifa was silent for a few moments. Then she slowly shook her head.

"I don't even know how he feels about me," she said slowly. "Not really. I don't know what he would think if I said anything. I'm afraid he might think, that he might...I don't know," she ended lamely.

"Afraid?" Shera said. "Tifa, you are one of the bravest people I've ever met. You and the others fought against Shinra and went head to head with Sephiroth. This should be easy."

They were interrupted by the doorbell.

"Just think about it, okay," Shera said. "For all you know he could feel the same way about you. But you'll never find out unless you say something."

Tifa nodded.

"I will," she replied hesitantly. "But not now. After we go to Cosmo Canyon. After his problems are taken care of. I'll tell him then."

Shera looked at her skeptically.

"Don't wait too long," she advised. "It would be a shame for you to lose him because you were afraid to tell him how you felt."

She walked out of the room to answer the door.

Tifa turned back to look at the pots on the kitchen counter.

"I will tell him," she repeated softly.

* * *

The guys came back in a short time later, Cloud and Barret laughing at some joke Cid had told. They sat down in the living room as the house began to slowly fill up with guests. Most of them were neighbors and friends from Rocket Town, including Shera's sister. But late in the afternoon, when dinner was just about to be served, Aeris arrived.

Cid, Barret, Cloud and Tifa were all sitting together talking quietly when she came in. She immediately went over to them.

Cloud moved over to make room for her between himself and Cid.

"Hi Aeris," he said. "Where are Red and Reeve?"

"They decided to stay and continue the search," she replied. She sat down and told them what had happened the last couple of days. When she was done Cid looked at her thoughtfully.

"I can't blame him for wanting to stay," he said. "I'm a little surprised at Reeve though. After what you told us I thought he would jump at the chance to get out of there."

"He's trying very hard," Aeris responded diplomatically. "And I felt better leaving knowing that Red wouldn't be alone. I don't think Dannako would hesitate to shoot him if he came across him by himself."

"Maybe we should come back with you and take care of this guy," Barret muttered.

"Well, I don't think that's necessary quite yet," Aeris replied. "Red can take care of himself. Besides, I'm hoping we can get through this without any trouble."

Barret looked doubtful but said nothing.

"So how have you been?" she asked, turning to look at Cloud.

He shrugged and proceeded to tell her what had happened while she was gone.

Tifa got up and walked toward the kitchen. She looked back for a moment, but no one seemed to notice her departure. She felt a pang of jealousy. Aeris had Cloud's rapt attention. She always seemed to be able to do that, and without even trying. Sometimes it seemed Tifa had to work all day just to get Cloud to say hello.

She shook her head and turned away.

I'm not going to let this bother me, she thought firmly as she walked into the kitchen.

Aeris looked at Cloud thoughtfully after he had finished his story.

"I didn't know it was that bad," she said. Like everyone else she assumed Cloud's headache had been nothing serious the day she had left with Red and Reeve. But now that she realized how bad it had been she thought maybe she should have stayed with him as well.

She looked up and saw Tifa walk by in the kitchen.

No, she thought with a sigh, looking back at Cloud. He was in good hands. Tifa would watch over him, just like she always had. She was a girl who knew exactly what she wanted out of life, and pursued it doggedly. Sometimes Aeris wished she could share that perspective.

Aeris looked back at Cloud. She wondered for a moment just what it was that she wanted out of life, and was surprised to realize that she had no answer to that.

Shera walked out of the kitchen.

"What say we open the presents?" Cid suggested.

She looked around the room for a moment.

"Okay. I guess most everyone's here," she replied.

They cleared a space in the middle of the room. Tifa stood by the kitchen door and watched them open their gifts. There was something in the oven that she needed to keep an eye on. One of the disadvantages of owning a bar and resturant was that your cooking skills were always in demand. But she really didn't mind.

Cid and Shera had only opened a few presents when Tifa saw Cloud suddenly close his eyes and bring his hand to his head.

She made her way around to him just as he got up. Aeris was looking at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah," Cloud responded, but she could see he was in pain. "It's the headache again. I think I'll go lie down for a while."

Tifa nodded. Cloud walked off slowly, headed for the back bedroom. Tifa saw Cid looking at her with a puzzled expression, but she just shrugged.

Tifa walked back to the kitchen. She hoped Cloud's headache wouldn't be too bad. Perhaps they should have gone straight to Cosmo Canyon.

Cid and Shera finished opening the presents. Cid put them away in the nursery while Shera came back into the kitchen. A few minutes later she came out again to annouce that dinner was ready.

* * *

They were just finishing dinner when Vincent showed up.

Cid got up to get his friend a seat.

"Didn't think you were going to make it," he commented.

Vincent looked around the room. It was full of people.

"With this crowd, it doesn't look like you would have missed me," he commented.

"Yeah," Cid agreed, looking around. "I think Shera's invited everyone she's ever met. She even invited the Turks, though I think it's unlikely they'll show up. Except maybe Elena. Have you seen her lately?"

Vincent shrugged. Cid was about to question him further when Shera called him over.

"Here you go," Vincent said, handing Cid a gift before he could walk away.

"Thanks," Cid replied. He walked over to Shera.

"Could you help move some of these chairs into the other room?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied. "Here's a gift from Vincent," he continued, handing her the package. "Let's hope it's not another toy airplane."

"If it is, it's your fault," she told him, taking the gift and heading for the nursury.

"Yeah, I suppose it is," Cid said with a grin.

He started to pick up one of the chairs.

Suddenly there was a piercing scream from Shera.

Everyone in the house looked up in surprise.

Cid dropped the chair with a curse, then ran into the nursury, his heart suddenly pounding. The others were right behind him.

Shera was standing in the middle of the room. She looked unhurt, and for a moment Cid did not know why she had screamed like that. But then he saw that she was staring at something on the floor.

He looked down to see that all the stuffed animals that they had gotten as presents were lined up in a row on the floor, their heads neatly severed.

For a moment everyone just stood there in shocked silence.

Cid turned and looked until he saw Cloud standing at the back of the group. He took a step toward him.

"What the HELL kind of sick little joke is this?" he shouted angrily.

Cloud looked at him, his face pale, his mouth moving wordlessly for a moment.

"I didn't...I don't remember," he said.

"Have you totally lost your mind?" Cid continued.

"It's not his fault!" Tifa said, immediately coming to Clouds defense. "I don't know what's wrong, but he didn't mean it. He..."

She stopped when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Cloud shaking his head.

"No," he said slowly, his face still pale. "Cid is right. Whatever is happening to me, I can't control it. I don't know what I'll do. I'm a danger to you all."

Tifa looked at him, and the anguish in his eyes tore at her.

"It's not safe to be near me," he said slowly.

Then he turned and ran from the house.

* * *

"We've lost them," Reno said in disgust.

"This wouldn't have happened if we'd have turned north when I said," Yuffie commented.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Reno said harshly. "That was obviously a false trail. An amateur could see it."

"An amateur wouldn't have been stupid enough to go the way we have," she retorted.

Reno pulled out his nightstick.

"I'm really starting to get sick of your know it all attitude," he said sharply.

Yuffie pulled out her sherukin.

"Anytime you want to go at it," she challenged.

Rude looked at Elena and rolled his eyes skyward.

"Here we go again," he muttered.

"If you two want to kill each other that's fine," Elena said. "But could you at least wait until we're done with this job?"

"At the rate you're going, you'll be retired first," Yuffie said.

"It would be a lot simpler to track them if I wasn't distracted by your constant whining," Reno said. Actually he had been afraid something like this might happen. The Swordman covered his trail much better than Bennis had. But that was to be expected from someone who had been in SOLDIER.

"It doesn't matter who's fault it is," Rude said. "We've lost them. The question is, what to we do about it?"

"We need to go back to where we last saw the trail and start over," Yuffie said immediately.

Reno looked up at the sky.

"It's getting dark. By the time we get back there it'll be too late to see anything. We might as well call it a night. We can pick up the trail again tomorrow."

"They could be miles away by then," Yuffie protested.

"There's no sense blundering around in the dark," Reno replied bluntly. "We'll be wasting our time, and it'll just tire us out. They're not going to go much further tonight anyway. We won't fall far behind."

"Rocket Town isn't far away. Why don't we stop by Cid's for the baby shower?" Elena suggested.

Reno looked at her.

"Gee, that sounds like fun."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to. But Rocket Town does have a bar," she reminded him, "and comfortable beds. I'm getting tired of that lumpy sleeping bag."

Reno stood there in thought for a minute.

"I suppose," he said finally. "It has been kind of a dry trip so far."

He turned and started off. Rude and Elena followed.

"Hey," Yuffie called out. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No!" they all said, and kept right on walking.

* * *

Cloud found himself looking up at Cid's rocket. He didn't know how he ended up here, nor much cared. All he knew was he had to get away from everyone. Get away before someone got hurt.

He remembered lying down, his head pounding. Eventually he had drifted off to sleep. Only to be awakened by Shera's scream. He hadn't done it, he couldn't remember doing anything at all. He desperately wanted to believe that it had been someone else.

But he knew deep down inside that it couldn't have been.

No one else was crazy enough to do something like that.

It was happening again, just like before. But this time Hojo was dead, Sephiroth was gone as well. The influence materia was safely stored away in Cosmo Canyon.

Was this latest nightmare a creation of his own mind?

Was this an inevitable side effect of what they had done to him? Hojo had called him the failed experiment, while he had thought Sephiroth a success. But Sephiroth had gone insane. Maybe instead of a failed experiment it was just taking longer for him. Was he doomed to suffer the same fate? Had Sephiroth been right in his dream, were they one in the same?

"Cloud."

Even the mysterious voices had come back to haunt him. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he had to face the very real possiblility that he was losing his mind.

He felt grief and anguish welling up inside him, almost overwhelming him.

"Cloud," he heard again, and suddenly he realized that the voice was not coming from inside his head. Someone was standing behind him.

He shuddered but did not turn around.

"Go away," he said.

He felt someone come up beside him and sit down.

"Cloud please."

"Just go away!" he repeated. "I almost killed you once. I don't know if I could stop myself if it happened again."

He turned to glance at her. He could see she was looking at him, but her features were shrouded in the darkness around them.

"You wouldn't hurt me," she replied firmly.

"But I don't know that," he blurted out. "I don't know what I'll do. It's too dangerous. I've got to go on alone!"

He got up and started to walk away. Tifa got up and hurried after him.

"I know it's difficult, but you can fight it," she said when she caught up with him. "You proved that the other day. You didn't strike me with your sword. You couldn't. You fought back against it and you won."

"But I don't know if I'll have the strength to fight it again," he replied.

She grabbed hold of his arm and forced him to look at her.

"But maybe we do together."

Her face was illuminated now in the light from a nearby streetlamp, her dark brown eyes looking at him pleadingly.

He turned away.

"It's just too dangerous," he said, pulling his arm away and continuing down the street.

She was after him again immediately.

"I won't leave you," she said adamently. "You can walk away all you want, but I'll follow. You can get up in the middle of the night and run away, but I'll find you. You can lock me up in a prison, but I'll escape and I'll come after you again. I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, and further. I won't abandon you! I can't. Because I...I..."

He turned and looked at her suddenly. She stood there, a few feet behind him in the dark. He could see her struggling for words, but she did not speak, just looked at him with an odd expression.

Finally he smiled faintly and stepped toward her.

"Okay," he relented. "I guess I should have know better than to try to walk away from you. We'll fight this thing together."

It took a moment for what he had said to sink in. Then she suddenly smiled. She came over to him.

"Thank you," she said.

He just looked at her for a moment. In spite of the danger in front of them, he suddenly felt better than he had all evening.

"Don't thank me," he answered. "This isn't going to be fun. I could go off the deep end at any moment. There's no guarentee we will find out anything at Cosmo Canyon. Who knows how long it will take to find a cure, if there is one. We'll have to stay away from all our friends, so you better get used to the isolation."

"It doesn't matter," she said immediately. She looked at him and her smile suddenly widened. "Besides, I've got a feeling it'll be a long time before we get invited to any parties again."

* * *

Barret opened the door. He seemed surprised to see them.

"Are we too late?" Elena asked.

Barret shrugged.

"C'mon in," he said.

The Turks walked in to see Cid and Shera sitting together in the living room. Vincent stood off to one side. There was no one else there.

Elena found her eyes straying to Vincent, in spite of the fact that she didn't want them to. He just looked at her, his face expressionless.

She turned away.

"Looks like we missed it," Rude observed.

"You can say that again," Cid commented.

"What do you mean?" Reno questioned.

Cid explained what had happened earlier. When he had finished they all looked at him in surprise.

"So the psycho finally lost it, eh?" Reno said, shaking his head. "I knew something like this was going to happen sooner or later."

Barret gave him a look but held his tongue.

"I'm afraid I lost it a little myself," Cid continued. "I feel kind of bad about it now. It really wasn't his fault. I was just worried about Shera. I didn't know what that kind of shock would do to her."

Shera smiled at him.

"But she's fine," he finished. "Now Cloud's run off, and Tifa with him. We went looking for them a little while ago, but couldn't find any sign of either of them. I hope he's okay."

"I always knew he'd come to a bad end," Reno stated. "Maybe he'll do us all a favor and take a flying leap onto that sword of his."

Barret leaped up, no longer able to contain himself.

"You're pushing you're luck, fool," he said, bringing up his gun arm.

Reno had his nighstick out in an instant.

Rude shoved his hand into his suit, but had only pulled his gun part way out when he found himslef staring down the barrel of Vincent's pistol.

"Stop it!" Elena cried out. "We're supposed to be here to celebrate the fact that Cid and Shera are going to have a child and you want to start a war in their house? What the hell is the matter with you people?"

They all stood there for a moment, then slowly lowered their weapons.

"Sorry," Barret muttered, though still obviously fuming.

Cid sat back in his chair and lit up a cigarette.

"This has turned out to be one hell of a day," he commented.

"We're sorry too," Elena said, looking pointedly at Reno. "We've got gifts. Yuffie's with us too. She should be here any minute. She was still looking for a gift in town when we left her."

"Actually, I thought I saw her go into the materia store," Rude said. "So it may be a while before she shows up."

Vincent turned and walked into the kitchen. Reno, who had just sat down, got up immediately and followed him.

He walked in as Vincent was pulling a beer out of the fridge.

"I need to talk to you."

Vincent just looked at him without saying anything.

"What's the story with you and Elena?"

Vincent stood up slowly, still not saying anything, but just staring. His red eyes, gleaming with absolutely no hint of humanity. Suddenly Reno became very uncomfortable. The feeling of menace was almost palpable.

"It's none of your business," Vincent said finally.

"Yes it is," Reno replied. In spite of how he felt he would not back down.

"I don't know what you did to her, but she's been wandering around in a daze ever since the Gold Saucer. She can't eat, she can't sleep, she can't think. All she does is walk around mumbling and pining for you. She's useless!"

Reno thought he detected a glimmer of something in Vincent's eyes at this, but he could not say what it might mean.

"Look fang boy," Reno continued, refusing to be intimidated. "The truth is I don't give a rat's ass how you feel about her. But I need her functional. She's a Turk, and she's got a job to do, but she doesn't seem to be able to seperate her work from her personal life. I don't give a shit what you tell her, but you've got to straighten her out. You can't just leave her hanging like this!"

For a long time Vincent just stared at him, his face completely expressionless. Reno began to get impatient. Was he listening at all?

Suddenly Vincent leaped forward. His left arm came up, and Reno found his neck encased in claws of cold steel.

Vincent said nothing for a minute, just looked at him with eyes that seemed to bore right through him.

Reno began to turn a lovely shade of blue.

"You know something, as much as I hate to admit it, you're right," Vincent said finally. "I do need to talk to her. But one thing you should know first."

He leaned closer until his face was right in front of Reno's. His red eyes staring straight at him.

"The name is Vincent, and I would appreciate it if you would refer to me as such in the future. Am I making myself clear?"

Reno nodded.

Vincent let him go and he stood there for a minute, gasping for breath.

"Good," Vincent said. "And to make sure you remember, I'll be coming with you."

"What?" Reno managed to gasp out.

"You heard me," he replied. "It's a promise I made to Elena, and I intend to keep it."

He turned and walked out of the room.

Reno stood there for a moment, still collecting himself. Finally he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"First Yuffie and now him," he muttered. "What the hell is this, Reno's traveling circus?"

* * *

"There's someone coming."

Altim looked up. They were hidden in some bushes just off the road north of Rocket Town. The thieves camp was to the east of them, just over a small hill. The Swordsman has sent him along with three others to watch the road, on the off chance that an easy mark would come by. But they had seen no one, and in fact had just been about to give up and head back to camp.

Altim saw a single figure walking down the road in the darkness. They stood there, motionless as the individual slowly approached. It wasn't until the person was nearly opposite them on the road that he realized it was a woman.

Aeris walked slowly down the road, lost in thought. She was terribly worried about Cloud, and had almost followed him as he fled from Cid's. But Tifa had beaten her to it, and she didn't think it would have been helpful for them both to go. It was probably better this way. Tifa would know the right thing to say, if any of them did.

Besides, she felt it was important that she got back to help Red and Reeve. She had a feeling they were going to need her assistance.

She looked up as four men materialized out of the darkness in front of her.

She stopped and looked at them, her rod held loosely in her hands.

"Well, well, what have we here?" one of them said.

Altim stood slightly behind the others, not sure of what to do. The moon had risen a short time ago and cast a bright glow around them. He looked at the woman. She was young, and beautiful.

"What's a girl like you doing wandering around all alone in the dark?" the man who had spoken before asked.

"I'm headed north for Icicle Inn," she replied. She seemed completely unaware that she was in any danger. She held a long rod in her hands, but Altim doubted it would be much protection.

"It's dangerous for a woman to be wandering around in the dark," the man continued. "There are a lot of thieves around here. They'd do some very unpleasent things to a pretty young thing like you."

His eyes glinted at her in the dark.

"Perhaps we should escort you."

"I can take care of myself, thank you," she said.

She went to walk forward but he blocked her path.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," he said.

His dagger suddenly appeared in his hand.

"This is a toll road."

She looked at him for a moment, and her grip tightened on the Princess Guard.

"What's the toll?" she asked.

"For a girl like you?" he said with a smile. "I'll give you one guess."

Aeris just looked at them, and Altim still could see no hint of fear in her eyes.

Suddenly her rod swung, and the man's dagger went flying from his hand. Quickly she shifted her weight and drove the end of the rod into his stomach. He let out a sharp exclaimation and went down.

The other two men sprang at Aeris, their knives drawn. Altim stood there for a moment, not drawing his weapon. He was surprised by the fiercness of her attack and the expert way she used her weapon. He couldn't help but admire the way she handled herself.

Still, she was attacking his comrades, no matter that she had good reason. She hadn't really seemed to notice him behind the others. He slipped around behind her as she held them off, then he suddenly dodged in and took her legs out from under her.

She fell the the ground, her rod dropping beside her. Instantly the two men were on top of her.

The man she had knocked down with her rod had gotten up again. Now he immediately came over, furious.

"She's mine," he said, pushing the others aside. He stood over her and slapped her hard across the face.

Aeris cried out and fell back.

"Hey!" Altim protested, not really sure why. He never really thought too deeply about the morals of what he was doing, but he did not sign up with this group to go around abusing innocent women.

They ignored him. The man stepped away from Aeris and picked up the dagger she had knocked away. He came back and grabbed her savagely.

"I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!" he said grimly.

"Leave her alone!" Altim shouted, and suddenly found his dagger poised in his hand.

The man looked at him suddenly. He pushed Aeris down and turned to face Altim, his own dagger glinting in the moonlight.

"What's the matter with you, little man? Suddenly turned into a gentleman? You better learn your place fast if you expect to live very long."

"What the hell is going on here?"

They all looked up, everyone's anger instantly disappearing. The Swordsman stood in the dark, looking at them with glowing blue eyes.

"I could hear you all the way back at camp."

"We were shaking down this girl and the little snot didn't like our methods."

"They were going to kill her," Altim said.

"Fighting over a woman?" the Swordsman said with a snort. "I should have know. Well, let's take a look at this 'prize'."

He walked over to Aeris, who still lay on the ground. She had been rubbing her cheek, but had stopped when she heard the Swordsman speak.

It was dark, but the moon illuminated her enough that he could make out her features. For the longest time they stood there motionless, looking at each other. The long light brown hair, braided in the back. The soft lips and delicate nose. And finally, the large emerald green eyes. There could be no doubt about it.

"Zack," she said, and suddenly the world seemed to go very still around them.

It was the girl of his dreams.


	6. Reeve the Dragonslayer

CHAPTER V

REEVE THE DRAGONSLAYER

Reeve couldn't help but stare at the odd looking house in front of them. Even though he had seen it before, when Cait had come through here, he still couldn't get used to it. The weird shell like shape, with the strange spires and points that seemed to serve no useful or aesthetic purpose. Was this really architecture, or was it the actual remains of some ancient living creature?

There was something eerie about the City of the Ancients, something otherworldly. But he supposed that shouldn't be surprising. After all, it had been built by beings that were not quite human.

Red stood nearby, looking around and sniffing the air. They had been following the trail off and on all day, but for some reason it had become difficult to follow. Though Red knew they were close the scent no longer seemed as strong. Something about the city seemed to be interfering with his senses. There was something about the whole region that was not quite right.

Aeris had left late yesterday morning, and they had arrived here last night. They had seen no sign of their quarry so far, nor Danneko either.

Reeve found himself thinking a lot about Aeris since she had gone. She had promised to be back later today, and he kept looking around, hoping to spot her. Red was good company but he wasn't much of a conversationist. He missed Aeris' sympathetic ear.

They passed by the house and continued down the trail. At least they hadn't run into anything they had to fight, he thought thankfully. Without Aeris, Red would be pretty much on his own.

They walked on for some time, eventually reaching a crossroad, with the trail leading off in four different directions. Red stood in the middle for some time, nose to the ground. It was obvious he was unsure of which way to go.

Eventually he turned and headed off to the north. They were soon surrounded by huge mushroom like plants and tall thin leafless trees that seemed to reach up far into the sky. Even the plants that grew here we different from any they had seen before.

After a short time they came to a clearing below the trees. Ahead was another of those shell houses, and in front of it a small lake. The very lake, Reeve knew, where they had laid Aeris' body to rest.

As they approached they saw something else. Crouching at the edge of the lake, slowly lapping up water, was the one they sought.

They could see her quite clearly, for they were not very far away. She was almost identical to Red, except perhaps a little smaller and she had a shock of blond hair in the middle of her short mane.

For a moment they stood there looking at her.

Before they could say anything she sensed their presense, for she suddenly looked up. Reeve could see the look of surprise on her face when she saw them. They stood staring at one another for a moment, then she turned and bolted away.

"Hey wait!" Reeve called out. Red said nothing, but suddenly took off after her. Reeve hesitated a moment, then followed. He ran as fast as he could, but even if he hadn't been out of shape, there was no way he could keep up with his four footed friend. In minutes both Red and his quarry were lost from sight.

Reeve ran on in the direction Red had gone, hoping to catch up somehow, though he thought it unlikely. Still, it seemed better than just standing there doing nothing.

They had run off the trail into the woods. Now Reeve found himself surrounded by the strange flora of the forest. The ground was broken and umeven, full of shallow vales and low hills, preventing him from seeing very far in any direcrtion. The dark green mushroom like plants grew here almost as tall as his head, and the thin trees closed in over him, cutting off the sunlight and leaving the forest floor dim and more eerie than ever.

He hadn't gone far before he had to stop and catch his breath. He stood there for a minute, listening carefully. He caught no sound to indicate Red was nearby, but he did hear a strange buzzing noise.

He looked toward the source of the sound. It was coming from the trees to his left. At first he could see nothing but a glimpse of movement through the foliage. Then a large insect like creature suddenly hovered into view.

Reeve turned and ran.

He ran up a low hill, directly away from the creature. The buzzing noise did not diminish. In fact it grew louder, more incessant. He glanced back to see the beast pursuing him.

"Red, help!" he shouted. He redoubled his speed, racing over the hill and down the other side. The buzzing sound seemed to fill the air around him now, and he could feel the wind from the beat of it's wings. He risked a look behind him once more. It was directly behind him now, looming over him, it's great gossamar wings seemed to fill the sky, and he could see it's green bulbous eyes.

His foot caught on a protruding root, and he tumbled to the earth.

The ground sloped steeply downward here. He slid out of control down the hill, smashing through the greenery, and coming to rest when his back banged roughly against a tree trunk.

He looked up. The thing was coming straight at him.

With a cry he scrambled out of the way. He dove into some nearby shrubs. The branches clawed at him, but he paid no heed. The beast was right over his head again. The buzzing rang in his ears and the beating of the wings drummed above him. He covered his head with his hands and cowered down.

His knee banged sharply against something. He glanced down to see a large branch half buried in the soil beside him.

With sudden resolve he grabbed the branch and wrenched it out of the ground. Then he turned and swung blindly with all his might.

Whether guided by luck or the beating of the creatures wings, the blow struck home. The branch hit the beast in the middle of it's abdomen. It twisted backward and fell to the ground, and suddenly the incessant buzzing stopped.

But just for a moment. Apparently he had only stunned the creature. For suddenly the buzzing began again as it once more beat it's wings in preparation for lauching itself back into the air.

But it never got the chance. Before it could move Reeve was on top of it, smashing down with the branch. Again and again he lashed out furiously, bringing the club down with all his might, until both he and the ground around him were spattered with green ichorous blood.

Finally he stopped and stood looking down at the remains of the creature, panting. There was not much left to look at.

He looked up to see Red walking slowly toward him.

"I did it," he exclaimed, grinning foolishly. "I killed it!"

Red did not reply, just walked over to him, staring at him curiously. Reeve looked down to see that he was covered with dirt, sweat and green blood.

"You certainly did," Red observed.

Reeve dropped the branch and looked at the creature once again.

"What was this thing anyway?" he asked.

Red tilted his head and looked at the remains.

"Hard to say at this point," he replied. "It looks like one of the giant dragonflies of the northern continent. They used to be quite abundant around here until the plant whose nector they live on became scarce. Now they are rarely seen."

Reeve looked at him, his grin fading.

"Nector?" he repeated. "You mean..."

"That's right," Red said, nodding. "The creature is a herbevoir. It's completely harmless."

Reeve stood there for a moment, just looking back and forth between Red and the creature.

"Well, why was it chasing me then?" he exclaimed.

Red shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. "Perhaps it was just curious. This isn't a region where humans are frequently seen. One things for sure, we're never going to know now."

They stood there in silence for a moment.

"I guess you didn't catch her," Reeve stated, suddenly very anxious to change the subject.

Red shook his head.

"No," he said. "I lost her in the woods."

He had been hot on her trail when he had heard Reeve call out for help, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to mention that.

"At least we know we're close," he said optimistically.

"Ummm," Reeve said. Though Red didn't say anything, he had a feeling he might have made yet another mistake.

Red looked at him.

"Well, you can't go wandering around like that. No offense but you stink. I'm sure it's uncomfortable for you and giving off that stench she'll smell you a mile away. Let's go get you cleaned up."

Reeve nodded. Even his poor excuse for a nose found the odor he was emitting unpleasent. He followed Red slowly back through the woods.

"Why do you think she ran?" he asked suddenly.

Red had been pondering that himself.

"I don't know," he replied. "She must have seen me, we were not far away. She had to realize that we are of the same species. Yet she ran from us as if she were afraid to meet me. I don't understand it."

"Perhaps she thought we were with Danneko?" Reeve suggested.

Red shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said slowly. "After I chased her into the woods she looked back a couple of times. It was obvious that we had left you far behind, as we would have any human. Even if Danneko had been with us, he would not have been able to keep up. She must have known this, but even when I called out to her, she did not slow. Even when it was obvious that I was her only pursuer she kept right on going. I don't know the reasoning behind it, but it was clear that she was not only running away from Danneko, but she was running from me as well."

* * *

"They must have camped here," Reno stated. They stood in a shallow bowl of land beneath the trees just north of Rocket Town. They had picked up the trail again just an hour ago. It had been difficult to find, and for a while Reno was afraid that they had lost it completely.

The grass was beaten down around them, and it was obvious to even an inexperienced eye that someone has spent some time here.

"How far ahead do you think they are?" Rude questioned.

"Hard to say," Reno replied. It had taken them longer than he had expected to get back on track, and now it was late afternoon. Their quarry had at least half a days start. They had their work cut out for them if they expected to catch up.

"Hey what's that?" Yuffie said.

He turned to see her walking toward a small cluster of trees. He could see some kind of object beneath them.

"Looks like they left something behind," she stated.

He took a couple of steps in her direction, looking at the object. It was partially hidden in the grass, but he could see it looked like some kind of wooden box, or chest.

"Yuffie, wait," he called out.

She didn't even glance toward him.

He pulled out his nightstick. Just as she bent down over the box she suddenly found herself encased in a pyramid of glowing yellow light.

She turned and looked at Reno angrily.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she spate out, banging fiercely on the pyramid.

He didn't answer her, but turned and nodded for Rude to come over. Rude walked up beside Yuffie and stooped down by the box.

"That's mine," Yuffie exclaimed. "I saw it first. If you creeps think you're going to take it from me, you've got another think coming!"

Rude ignored her as well. He knelt down beside the box and inspected it carefully. He turned to look at Reno.

"Yeah, it's wired all right," he said.

"What?" Yuffie said.

Rude produced a pouch from his suit pocket. He removed a small set of wire cutters from it. Reaching carefully beneath the box, he clipped a small white wire that ran along the side of it. Then he got up and picked up the box. He flipped open the lid and showed it to Yuffie. Except for the small bomb inside, it was empty.

Reno released the pyramid and walked over to them.

"Looks like the Swordsman decided to leave a little present behind for anyone who might be following," he commented.

Reno looked at Yuffie, but she just turned away. He smiled to himself. He hadn't expected a thank you. Just the fact that for once she didn't have any smart ass remarks was satisfaction enough.

He circled around the clearing, looking carefully at the ground.

"C'mon," he said finally, pointing to the west. "The trail leads off in this direction."

He started off, Rude right behind him. Yuffie came next, already walking as if nothing had happened at all. Elena followed, with Vincent bringing up the rear.

Elena slowed down until Vincent was walking next to her. She had been surprised when he had told them he was coming with them, and pleased in spite of herself. But she hadn't shown it. She was determined this time to not read too much into what he was doing.

She glanced over at him. He hadn't said more than two words to her today, not that that was anything unusual. A couple of times he had appeared to be about to say something, but he had not spoken.

He looked up and saw her looking at him. For a moment she saw a hint of a smile on his face, that smile that she hadn't seen in quite some time. Her smile, she thought. But then it vanished. Still, he did not turn away, but continued to look at her thoughtfully.

"Why did you become a Turk?" he asked.

Not at all what she had been expecting. She thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't know," she said. "The Turks were always considered an elite organization in Shinra. It was a step up in my career if I could join them."

"You should quit," he said.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"You're not cut out to be a Turk. You're not cold blooded enough."

She looked at him angrily.

"Did you come with us just so you could insult me?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Not many people would take that as an insult," he replied with a smile. "And it was not meant as one. You didn't want to work with AVALANCHE because of what they did in Midgar. Now Reno tells me you've been upset since our conversation in the Gold Saucer."

It wasn't much of a conversation, she thought ruefully.

"Reno is a jerk," she said. "It's none of his business."

"But it is," Vincent replied. "He is the leader of the Turks now, and everything you do is his business. That's part of being a Turk. That's what it's all about. To be a Turk means obeying without question, no matter what is asked of you. You can't afford the luxury of emotions. You know the Turks creed."

"No excuses, no regrets," she recited.

"It takes a certain type of person to live up to that," he continued. "I don't think you are that type of person. That's not you, and that shouldn't be taken as an insult. On the contrary, it gives me hope for you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, more confused than ever.

"Being a Turk carries a lot of prestige, I admit," he said. "But you have to give up too much. I don't want you to end up like Reno and Rude, or even worse, like me."

"I don't think you're so bad," she replied quickly. "Or Reno or Rude either for that matter."

"But you don't know me very well," he answered. "I took the Turks credo to heart, and by doing so lost my own. I was the epitomie of a Turk. Even before what Hojo did to me. He didn't change me that much. The foundation was already there long before I met him. I lived and breathed that creed until..."

He paused for a moment. She could tell the memories were painful.

"Until," he forced himself to continue, "the one time in my life that I did let my emotions take control, and it ended up destroying both of us. I'll never let that happen again!"

She felt a strong desire to reach out to him, to take his hand, but she wouldn't let herself.

"But you weren't to blame for that," she said. "It was Hojo."

"Was it?" he said, the words sounding almost like an accusation. "Did Hojo change me, or did he just enhance what was already there? No, I didn't come with you to insult you, I came to warn you. This organization will take you and use you until there is nothing left inside you, and then it will discard you. And I would do the same. My advice would be to turn around right now and get as far away from all of us as you possibly can, as quickly as you can."

He fell silent, and now when he looked at her there was no sign of a smile on his lips. She looked at his eyes and they bore into her.

She turned away hastily. She knew how he could use his eyes much like a weapon. She was not about to attempt to stand up to that. But she didn't need to look at him to talk.

"I don't think..." she began, but was interrupted by a cry from Yuffie.

"Hey, what's that?"

They had come out of the woods and were crossing the road that led north from Rocket Town toward the coast. They all looked at Yuffie's call. Reno saw something glinting in the grass beside the road. He hurried over, but Yuffie just stood over the item without touching it until the others came up beside her.

Reno stood there for a moment, then reached down and picked up the long metal pole. They all recognized it immediately.

"Aeris' rod," Vincent said grimly.

* * *

The flap to her tent opened and a young man stepped in. Aeris recognized him as the boy who had stood up for her last night. He had a plate of food in his hands.

Altim looked at Aeris and said nothing for a moment. He had thought her beautiful last night in the dark, but now that he saw her in the light of day he realized that he had underestimated her loveliness. He had never seen a woman so stunning.

She looked at him curiously and he realized he was staring at her.

He turned hastily away, his face reddening.

"I...I brought you some food" he stammered, quite unnecessarily.

"Thank you," she replied, smiling faintly. "And thank you also for helping me last night. That was very brave."

He shrugged and did not reply. This was not turning out anything like he had planned when he had bribed the cook to let him bring her the food. He had a dozen witty lines that he had rehearsed before walking into her tent, but he couldn't think of a single one of them now. He felt like he was coming across as a complete idiot, and he had to resist the urge to run back out of the tent in embarrassment.

But he couldn't leave. If he did he wouldn't be able to see those soft green eyes looking at him innocently.

"What were you doing out there?" he finally managed to say. "All alone in the dark."

"I was on my way to rejoin my friends," she replied, still apparently not seeming to understand that there was any danger involved in it at all.

"But didn't you realize how dangerous that was?" he couldn't help but ask.

She smiled at him again, and his heart skipped a beat.

"It's very kind of you to be concerned about me," she said. "But I'll be fine."

He shook his head.

"How can you say that?" he questioned. "You know what almost happened to you. You know what kind of people you've been captured by. I won't hurt you, but I've a feeling I might be the exception. I don't know what they will do to you."

And I don't know whether I can do anything about it, he thought. He had stood up to one man, but he couldn't fight the whole camp. He had no idea what the Swordsman had in mind for her.

"Zack wouldn't hurt me," she said, as if divining his thoughts.

"So you did call him that last night," Altim said. "You do know him."

"Yes," she replied. "From a very long time ago. But all this time, I thought he was dead." she ended with a note of sadness in her voice.

"You don't seem like the type who would have been friends," Altim said.

Aeris had no answer to that. Zack had not said a word to her last night, just told his men to bring her back to camp. They had put her in this tent, and she hadn't seen him since. Hardly enough time to form any opinions about his personality, but she could tell he had changed, perhaps drastically. She had picked up from bits and pieces from the others that he was called the Swordsman now, and had given up or forgotton the name Zack. In any case it was hardly likely the Zack she knew would be in charge of this rough band of theives.

Suddenly the tent flap was pushed aside again, and the object of their conversation walked in.

He looked at Altim and nodded his head toward the exit. With one last glance at Aeris, Altim put her food down and walked out.

Zack turned and they looked at each other for a long time without saying anything. The coal black hair, the deep blue mako eyes, the chiseled features, were all the same. Not quite as well groomed, she thought, looking at the dark stubble covering his chin and the unkept appearence of his clothing, but it was still him.

"Zack," she said.

He looked at her curiously.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Don't you know?" she responded.

"Don't play games with me," he said, with a hint of anger. He took a step toward her, menace apparent in his eyes, but she returned his gaze unflinching.

He took another step forward, until he was right beside her, looking down at her coldly.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" he asked.

She looked up at him with no sign of fear in her eyes.

"Should I be?"

"I am the Swordsman," he stated grimly. He let his eyes run the length of her body. "I kill any man who stands in my way and take any woman I desire. You should be very much afraid of me."

Still she did not flinch.

"You are Zack of Gongaga," she replied, looking straight at him. "You are kind and gentle and never treated anyone you knew with anything but generosity and respect."

He stared at her without saying anything, but she did not turn away.

He took a step back.

"Who are you?" he asked again, but this time without menace.

"My name is Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough. You don't remember me?"

He folded his arms across his chest.

"I remember something..." he said slowly.

She looked at him sympathetically.

"Zack, what happened to you? Cloud told me you were dead."

"Cloud?"

"Yes, Cloud Strife. He was your best friend. You don't remeber him either?"

"No," he replied. "I don't remember anything that happened to me before I was shot."

He looked up at her again.

"But you do, don't you?"

She nodded.

"It was Shinra. You and Cloud were caught in an ambush. You were shot several times. He thought you were dead."

Zack looked at her thoughtfully.

"Shinra, huh," he mused.

Suddenly he brought his hands up to his head.

"What's wrong?" Aeris said immediately.

He didn't answer. He leaned forward, and for a moment she thought he was going to fall. Instead he dropped down to one knee, clutching his head, obviously in extreme pain.

Aeris knelt down beside him and took hold of his arm. Suddenly she was very sure of what was wrong with him.

"You're having the same headaches as Cloud," she said slowly.

He jerked his arm away from her and staggered to his feet.

"I don't...need...any help!" he spate out through clenched teeth. He stood there for a long time, shivering in pain. She watched him, but she did not try to comfort him again. Eventually the pain seemed to subside.

"It appears we have a lot to talk about," he said after he had regained control of himself. "But I don't have time now. We've lingered here too long. I've got to get these people moving again. We've got to get to Nibelheim. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll have time for many long chats."

He turned to leave but she came up beside him.

"What are you planning on doing with me?" she asked. "I have some friends who need my help."

He turned to look at her one more time. There was no kindness in his eyes.

"You are the Swordsman's prisoner. You will remain with us as long as it is my whim that you do, and I've a feeling it will be my whim for quite some time to come. I'm afraid it is unlikely you will ever see your friends again."

Then he turned and walked swiftly out of the tent.

* * *

Tifa looked around slowly as they walked into Nibelheim. Neither one of them had been back here since they had beaten Sephiroth. Neither one of them had wanted to come back here to a town full of strangers.

But as she walked along she realized that was not true. All around them people were going about their business. A man wearing an apron stood out in front of a bakery, a table of his wares in front of him. She could smell the scent of fresh baked bread as they approached. Across the street two children were playing with a rubber ball. And down on the street corner ahead of them a young couple stood with their arms wrapped around one another. These people were not the strangers. It was their town now.

It was she and Cloud who were the strangers.

This was not their hometown anymore. It had been taken away from them by Shinra.

She didn't want to be here. She would have prefered to camp out in the wilderness. But Cloud had insisted on coming into town. She had tried to talk him out of it, but he had turned a deaf ear. He had never shown any interest in wanting to return here before.

Then again, this wasn't exactly the first odd thing he had done lately.

They walked into the Inn. She didn't recognize the man at the front desk, of course. Cloud walked over and got them rooms.

Seperate rooms.

She said nothing. She would not have protested had he gotten just one. Was he still worried that he would do her harm? They had slept just a few feet apart in their sleeping bags on the road, and he had not seemed worried then.

They walked up to their rooms and stowed their gear. Her room had a view out the back of the Inn, looking out over the forest with just a glimpse of the Nibel mountains to the right. She was grateful for that. She didn't want to be able to look out and see the town.

She sat down on the bed and stared at the wall. She had been happy when Cloud had acquiesced to her going with him, but it had not lasted. He had hardly said anything since then, just a few words here and there, spoken gruffly and without humor. She had tried to be cheerful, tried to say things to raise their spirits, but the words had sounded hollow. Eventually they had both lapsed into silence.

Perhaps it was just Nibelheim, she thought.

She slowly eased herself down until she was stretched out on the bed, suddenly realizing just how tired she was. They had been walking all day, and had taken few breaks.

Things would be better tomorrow. They would leave Nibelheim, hopefully for good. She never wanted to come back here again. This town held too many painful memories.

* * *

She woke up, blinking in the dark. For a moment she didn't know where she was. She glanced out the window and saw the dark line of the Nibel mountains in the moonlight.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She must have been even more exhausted than she thought. She obviously had fallen asleep, evidently for quite some time.

Slowly she stood up, he stomach rumbling. She must have slept right though dinner. Why hadn't Cloud woken her? She turned on the light and stood for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. How long had she slept?

She stepped over to the door between their adjoining rooms. She hadn't locked hers...

It opened easily in her hand. She looked in but it was dark.

"Cloud?" she said, but received no answer. She stepped into the room and looked around.

It was empty.

Something had to be wrong. He wouldn't just wander off into the night without her. He wouldn't just leave her there.

Would he?

Perhaps he had decided, in spite of her pleas, that he was better off going on alone.

She looked around the room, suddenly filled with fear that that was exactly what he had done. She turned on the light and went swifly over to a large cabinet and opened it up. Relieved, she saw that his gear was still there.

He wouldn't leave without that.

She looked around. There was one thing that was missing.

His sword.

She left the room and walked down the stairs and out of the Inn. It must have been late, for the streets were quiet. The stores and houses around them dark and shuttered. Besides the Inn, the only light she saw was coming from the old Shinra mansion.

She looked around slowly, but saw no sign of Cloud. In fact, there was no sign of anyone. The streets were deserted.

She caught a glimpse of what had been her house, and she quickly turned away. She did not want to see that. She did not want to be here at all. Where could Cloud have gone?

Slowly she found herself walking toward the old Shinra mansion. She didn't know why she chose this building. Perhaps because it was the only one that showed any sign of activity. Perhaps it was because of all that had happened to them there in the past. If there were any secrets left in Nibelheim, it seemed likely she would find them there.

As she approached she saw that the front door was open, light streaming out. She walked up to the entrance and looked in. Though brightly lit, the room in front of her was deserted.

She walked in and stopped for a minute, listening carefully, but she heard nothing. She went up the stairway and turned to the right. If he was here he was almost assuridly in the basement. Everything that that ever happened here seemed to take place down there.

She stepped into the next room and stopped suddenly in horror. A body lay on the floor in front of her, his gleaming white lab coat stained with crimson.

At first she turned away, not wanting to look. But she knew she had to see.

Steeling herself, she turned back to look at the body once more. She knelt down and saw the gaping wound across his chest. A wound that could easily have been caused by a large sword.

"Cloud," she whispered, a knot tightening in her stomach. Could he have done such a thing?

She stood up again and moved on. She reached the stairs that led down into the basement. Slowly she walked down the rickety spiral stariway. At the bottem she reached a long narrow corridor. She could see the entrance to the library ahead. But off to the right, opposite the door where they had found Vincent so long ago, another door stood open. A door she had never seen before.

She walked slowly over to it, and as she did she saw that it had been concealed in the wall. She stopped in front of it and looked in. The room wasn't very big. It appeared to have some kind of laboratory equipment in it. There was no one in it.

She stepped into the room. There was a couple of large pieces of equipment here, but she no idea what their use might be. Just one thing caught her eye. At the far end of the room was a large container. The top was off, and some kind of fog seemed to be flowing slowly out of it. On the container itself were the words:

'DANGER: Liquid Nitrogen'

And below that:

'Cryogenic Chamber. Keep at -100 degrees at all times'

She slowly walked over to the container. When her feet came in contact with the fog it felt icy. She leaned over and looked inside.

It was empty.

She looked around, but saw nothing more of interest, or that she would understand. She walked out of the room, back into the corridor outside. The door to the library was open. As she approached she saw that there were red stains on the floor inside.

She stopped at the entrance, again listening carefully, and again, heard no sound.

She stepped into the room. She stopped immediately. This time she did not turn away. She had been prepared.

There were six bodies scattered around the room. Five men and one female. All wearing bloodied lab coats, all marked with the same evil wound as the man upstairs.

She heard a moan beside her and jumped back, her heart suddenly racing.

Cloud sat on the floor next to a bookcase, so quiet she hadn't even noticed him. He was not looking at her. His head was bowed, his knees drawn up with his sword resting on them.

It took a moment for her to get over the surprise. Then she knelt down beside him.

"Cloud, how could you..."

He suddenly looked up at her with tortured eyes.

"I...I didn't do it," he stammered. "I swear. I came down here and they were all dead. All of them. I don't remember doing anything. Tifa, I don't. I couldn't have done this"

He bowed his head again, his voice choked with anguish.

She slowly reached out and put her arms around him. His sword slid off his knees and clattered to the floor unnoticed. He turned toward her and grabbed hold of her, sobbing openly and squeezing her tight like he had that night he had nearly killed her.

"Help me Tifa," he said, his voice nearly failing him. "Please help me."

She remained unmoving in his embrace, letting him take comfort from her just being there. She felt that this was one time where no words would be adequate. She felt tears welling in her own eyes and knew it was useless to try to stifle them.

What if he truely was going insane?


	7. The Investigation of Inspector Wallace

CHAPTER VI

THE INVESTIGATION OF INSPECTOR WALLACE

The stairs creaked and groaned as Barret walked down them. Each step he put his foot on sagged omniously. One day this whole damn place was going to collapse, he thought. And he wouldn't be sorry to see it go.

He reached the bottem of the stairs and looked down the corrider. He immediately spotted the same door that Tifa had seen the night before. The one they had never noticed before.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered as he went over to the entrance.

He walked into the room and looked around for a moment. Then walked out again and continued down the corrider. He'd check that room out more carefully later. He wanted to take a look in the library first.

The bodies were gone, of course. Taken out in the morning after they had been discovered. But the floor was still covered with dark streaks of red. A lot of them.

He had already seen the bodies, the horrible wounds, before he had come here.

Now he paced around the room slowly, looking for something, but not exactly sure what. Cloud and Tifa had been here, that much was certain. The owner of the Inn said they had been in the previous night, but he had not seen them since. From the wounds on the bodies it was obvious that the scientists had been killed with a large sword or some other sharp object. It was all very convincing.

He stood in the center of the room and shook his head.

But what was he to make of it all? The obvious conclusion, of course, was that Cloud had now totally lost it and was on some kind of mad rampage. The fact that this was exactly what Sephiroth had done sent a shiver down his spine. He had never known Sephiroth, had never been friends with him. He had only known him as a ruthless adversary. Could he now look at Cloud, who he had know all this time, after all they had been through, in the same light? Could he stand against his friend if it came down to it? If it was the only way to stop the killing?

In spite of all the similarities to Sephiroth, there was one significant difference.

Sephiroth had been alone.

He couldn't help but wonder what part Tifa would play in this. It was obvious she was going to stand by Cloud no matter what happened. Could she help him overcome this if he couldn't himsef? Would she be a steadying influence, or would he turn on her as well? Barret gritted his teeth. If Cloud hurt her he would have to answer for it no matter how they might feel about him.

An even more disturbing possibility presented itself. What if they confronted Cloud and she sided with him against them? How far would she go to protect him, even if he was obviously wrong? He couldn't bear the thought of having to oppose both of his friends.

It was all too damn complicated!

"Shit," he muttered. There was just too much thinking involved in all this.

Nothing else seemed to have been disturbed in this room.

He wallked out of the library, slowly making his way back to the secret room he had glanced in before.

Even when Sephiroth had gone crazy, there had still been method to his madness. He had had a plan in mind, no matter how twisted, and had not killed without reason.

If Cloud were following the same pattern, what was his reason for coming here? Was he searching for the Promised Land as well, or did he have an even more myterious plan. What was his reason for killing?

The library left nothing but questions. Perhaps he could find some answers in this other room.

He walked in and looked around. He saw the same lab equipment Tifa had, and was just as in the dark as to it's purpose. The fog caused by the escape of the liquid nitrogen was long gone.

He looked at the container. Was this what Cloud had come for? Had there been something in this chamber that Cloud needed for some unknown purpose. Barret had no idea.

There was a desk in the middle of the room with a computer on it. The screen was dark, but he noticed that the computer itself was on.

He reached down and pressed one of the keys.

The darkness on the screen was replaced by a list of names.

He bent forward and looked more closely. It was a list of fifteen names, numbered from 0 to 14. At the top of the screen was the heading: JENOVA PROJECT.

He looked at the names. Hojo was the first one on the list, and his name was highlighted. The next name was Sephiroth. He quickly scanned the list. The last two were Red and Cloud Strife.

Beside the computer was a small plastic case for storing CDs. He opened it up. Inside were fourteen CDs, a number on the case next to each one of them. The very first slot, the one labeled with a zero, was empty.

He sat pondering this for a few moments. He didn't know what was going on but the more he saw the less he liked it. He was getting too much of a deja vu feeling.

He pulled out the last disk and placed it in the computer. Then he arrowed down until Cloud Strife was highlighted.

He hesitated for just a moment, then pressed the enter key.

The screen immediately started to fill up with letters. Lines and lines of them, scrolling up the screen until it was full, then continuing, the lines being replaced from the bottem and scrolling up. He looked at the lines as they quickly scrolled by, but the letters made no sense. There were no words here, or any puncuation. Just line after line of letters, over and over. He sat there and watched them for a while, but they just kept going and going.

Just like that damn rabbit, he thought.

There must have been hundreds of them, thousands.

He pressed the release and removed the CD. Whatever was going on here, it was way over his head. The only one he could think of who might be able to make some sense out of this was Red, but he was off on his own little adventure. Barret didn't want to call him unless things really got desperate. He knew how important Red's quest was to his furry friend.

Whatever Cloud was after, Barret had a feeling the key to it was on the missing CD. If they could figure out what these were it would probably go a long way toward helping them understand what the hell was going on.

He slipped the CD into his pocket, then quickly stalked out of the room.

* * *

"This is pointless," Cloud muttered.

Tifa looked up from the papers strewn on the table in front of her.

They were sitting in a huge room, one of dozens that were contained in the Hall of Records in Cosmo Canyon. Cloud had a similar stack of papers in front of him.

"The only way we're going to get to the bottem of this is to look through this stuff," she replied patiently.

"But there's thousands of papers here," he protested, waving his hands at the shelves around them. "It could take us months to find anything, years. We don't have that much time."

Tifa looked at him without saying anything.

"Besides," he continued. "Illaynova said she'd have some of her people look into it for us. I'm sure they'll have a much better idea of what to look for."

Still she did not reply. Finally she sighed.

"I suppose you're right," she said. Illaynova was the senior elder now that Bugenhagen was gone. She had promised to help them as best she could, knowing how close they were with Nanaki. They probably were just wasting their time.

But what else could they to do? She didn't think just sitting around waiting for someone else to come up with something would be any better. In fact, she thought it would be worse. At least this kept them occupied.

"But this is better than just doing nothing, isn't it?" she asked. "I don't want to just sit around and worry. At least now I feel like I'm trying to help solve the problem."

Cloud shook his head.

"I'm going back to my room," he stated.

He got up and walked away. She looked at him until he left the room, then her head slowly sank down, and for a moment she was almost overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness. She was doing everything in her power to make him better, and he seemed not to care.

She knew it wasn't his fault, but that didn't make it any easier for her. She wished some of their other friends were with them.

She shook her head and stared at the papers on the desk in front of her.

Okay, that's enough feeling sorry for yourself, she thought grimly, now get to work.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there. All the papers from the Jenova Project that had been found in Nibelheim and Midgar, or copies of them, were stored here, and she was sure that somewhere in this information would be a clue as to what they could do to help Cloud. But the amount of information was tremedous. The chances of her finding something seemed vanishingly small.

Eventually she looked up and saw that darkness had fallen outside. She rubbed her eyes and stood up slowly. She had done enough for one day.

She left the Hall of Records and headed back to the Inn. She found Cloud sitting at the bar. She sat down beside him and ordered something to eat. Cloud sat beside her staring into space, a drink in his hand, not speaking at all. She hated feeling uncomfortable in his presense.

After a while he got up and muttered that he was tired and was going up to his room. She watched him leave then turned and ordered a drink for herself. She drank it down swiftly, then walked up to her own room.

She was tired. Tired of trying, tired of worrying, tired of everything. She tossed off her clothes and slipped on a nightgown, then turned off the light. She laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tomorrow would be better, she thought. Tomorrow they would find something.

She didn't know how much longer she could go on this way.

Hours later, of so it seemed to her, she was still awake. Whether from worry, nervousness, or perhaps because she had fallen asleep so early yesterday, sleep eluded her. She lay on the bed, listening as the sounds of the Inn slowly diminished, until all was silent. The papers she had looked through earlier in the day cluttered her mind with thoughts of Shinra, Hojo, and Jenova.

She wasn't sure how long she lay there. She might even have actually dozed off for a while. She could not be sure. But suddenly she found herself sitting up in the dark, listening intently. She was sure she had heard the door of the room next to her's slowly open and close.

Cloud's room.

Instantly she got up and opened her own door, peeking out. She looked down the hall just in time to see the back of Cloud's head as he disappeared down the stairway.

She immediately followed, gripped by a sudden fear. What could he be up to now? Whatever it was, she was deteremined to find out for herself. If he was going to lose it, she was going to be right by his side this time.

She reached the top of the stairs and looked down. She could see him clearly now. He walked through the lobby and out the front door. She went quickly down the stairs. The Innkeeper gave her a curious look as she walked by. She realized she was still in her nightgown. Well, she wasn't going to worry about that right now.

She stepped outside and looked around. The night was cool but not unpleasntly so. A gentle breeze billowed out her nightgown for a moment. She saw Cloud walking down the street to the left.

She followed cautiously. She didn't know how he would react if he saw her, but she had a feeling he would not be happy. She didn't want him to know she was there until she found out what he was doing.

He disappeared around the corner ahead of her. She heard some voices to her left. She hesitated and turned to look, but it was just a couple of people sitting by the eternal flame. She could see them silouttted against the light. She sped up and reached the corner just moments later, but when she looked around she did not see him.

She started down the road slowly, looking around, praying that she hadn't lost him. But suddenly she saw him again, up ahead on the left, and walking back toward her.

She hastily stepped into the shadow of a doorway, hoping she hadn't been spottted. She was surprised to see him coming back. She had been sure he had some purpose in mind when he had left, but now she thought that maybe she had been wrong. Perhaps he had just come out to get some fresh air and take a late night stroll.

He came closer, and she saw that he had not seen her, for he did not look her way. If he was just taking a stroll he might be a little more relaxed than he had been earlier. Maybe he would like some company.

She was about to call out his name when she stopped. Something was not quite right. The way he was walking, the way the sword hung on his back, was somehow unfamiliar. The moon hung low on the horizen, hidden behind the buildings to her left. But suddenly he crossed between two buildings and the moonlight feel on him, momentarily illuminating his face.

Tifa almost gasped aloud at what she saw.

For a long time she stood there completely still, until the figure had disappeared around the street corner down the road.

She slowly walked back out into the road, her face pale in the moonlight. Could that possibly have been who she thought it was? Had her eyes, or some trick of the moonlight, deceived her, made her see something that could not exist, someone who could not possibly be alive?

Or were there ghosts walking the streets of Cosmo Canyon?

She walked down the road a little further, looking for some sign of where Cloud had gone. She reached the next intersection and looked around. She saw no sign of him, but the Hall of Records was just down the road to her right.

She hurried down the road until she stood in front of it. The main entrance was open, and there were lights on inside. She could see someone standing just inside the door.

She ran up the steps that led up to the entrance. Cloud was standing in the doorway, looking inside, his sword in his hand. He turned to look at her as she came up beside him, a look of shock on his face.

Just inside the doorway she could see a man laying on the ground.

"Not again," she said softly.

She stepped past him and looked inside. There were at least two other bodies. She heard Cloud moan softly.

She turned to look at him. He returned her gaze, his eyes filled with anguish.

"Tifa, I didn't do it," he said slowly.

She grabbed hold of his hand.

"I know," she said, looking straight at him. "It was Zack."

She saw the look of surprise on his face, but before he could say anything a deep voice called out from behind them.

"Cloud Strife, lay down your weapon!"

They turned to see six members of the Canyon Guards standing at the foot of the steps, weapons drawn and ready.

* * *

"I'm so glad you're here."

Barret did not reply, just looked at Tifa with concern. He had never seen her looking so tired and worn. She looked almost ill. What had she been going through these last few days?

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"How many did he kill this time?" Barret asked grimly.

"There were four people killed in the Hall of Records, and the guard at the entrance to the Canyon. But Cloud didn't do it," she answered sharply.

Barret looked at her sympathetically.

"Tifa, I know how you feel about him, but sometimes you've just got to face the facts. Even if it's not his fault, it's pretty obvious..."

"It was Zack," she interrupted him.

"Who?"

"Zack," she repeated. She quickly explained what had happened the previous night.

He looked at her thoughtfully when she was done, but she could still see doubt in his eyes.

"You mean the Zack that Cloud was always talking about. The one who was killed near Midgar?" Barret said.

Tifa nodded.

"Have you spoken to anyone else about this?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. "I told Illyanova last night, but she told me she still had to hold Cloud anyway. To tell you the truth, I don't think she believed me."

Barret nodded. He could understand that point of view.

"Well, you have to admit it's very...odd," he had almost said convienent, "that some guy who is supposed to be dead would suddenly reappear and start killing people just when Cloud happened to be here at the same time."

He looked at her carefully. Even he thought her story pretty far fetched. He could imagine how it had sounded to Illyanova. Again he had to wonder how far Tifa would go to protect Cloud. He didn't think she would lie for him, but it didn't have to come to that. Maybe she had seen someone who looked similar to Zack and in her present muddled state had convinced herself that it had in fact been him. Could he trust what she was telling him?

"Are you sure it was Zack?" he questioned. "You said it was dark."

"Yes," she answered immediately. Then she looked at him suddenly. "What, you don't believe me?"

The pause before he answered spoke volumes. He realized only the truth would do now.

"I believe you saw someone," he said slowly. "Someone you believe was Zack. I'd like to think it's true, that you really did see him. But I know how you feel about Cloud, I know you'd do just about anything to get him out of this. Isn't it just possible, just possible," he repeated, "that the person you saw was only someone who resembled Zack? You said it was dark, you only saw him for a moment. Maybe you wanted so badly to believe it was Zack..."

His voice faded to silence, seeing the look on her face. Anger mixed with something else. Disappointment?

"It was Zack," she said, firmly but softly.

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. Finally Barret spoke again.

"So what do you want me to do?"

She walked on. When she spoke this time she did not look at him.

"I was hoping you would go plead our case to Illaynova," she responded. "I was hoping you could convince her to let him go. As the Mayor of Corel you've got a lot more pull than I do. I was hoping you could get her to see that Cloud did not do this. But I guess I was just wasting my time."

He looked at her angrily, stung by her words.

"Of course I'll go talk to Illaynova," he said sharply. "Cloud is still my friend too. I'm not about to abandon him, if that's what you're thinking. Even if he is responsible for this I know there's some kind of explanation. I know he wouldn't do this on his own. I'll do everything I can to help him."

She did not respond for a moment. But then she turned to him, the anger no longer in her eyes

"I'm sorry."

Barret's face immediately softened as well. He put his arm around her.

"It's okay," he replied. "I know what you're going through. I know this is hard. But just remember, you've got friends. You're not in this alone."

She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"Thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around him as well. She looked away. She hadn't realized how much she missed her friends.

"Okay," Barret said, releasing her. "So I guess I'm off to talk to Illaynova. Are you coming along?"

She shook her head.

"No, I've already spoken to her. I don't think it would be helpful for me to talk to her again. I'm going to go see how Cloud is doing."

Barret nodded.

"Okay, I'll meet you at the Inn as soon as I'm done," he replied. "And tell that spikey haired little troublemaker that he's got nothin to worry about. Barret'll staighten this all out."

Tifa smiled again. Somehow she didn't think it would be that simple, but she knew Barret's words were meant to cheer her up, and she did feel better now that he was here.

Barret turned and walked swiftly away. She watched him for a moment and then started off toward the Hall of Justice, where Cloud was being held since he had been taken away by the guards.

She found him in a small holding cell, sitting on a narrow cot staring off into space. When he saw her he immediately got up.

"Is Barret here?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, walking up next to the bars that seperated them. "He's talking to Illyanova now."

Cloud reached through the bars and took hold of her hand.

"Do you think he can get me out of here?"

The look she gave him said it all.

"He's going to try," was all she said.

He let go of her hand and turned away.

"I've got to get out of here," he said anxiously.

"We're doing all we can," she replied. "But the evidence against you is pretty convincing. I don't think they believed what I told them about Zack. I suspect they think I made it all up just to protect you."

He turned back toward her.

"But they have to believe you. I've got to get out of here as soon as possible. Something is going to happen."

She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Cloud shook his head.

"I don't know. I'm not sure. But I know something is going to happen. Soemthing bad. Do you think it's a coincidence that Zack and I both showed up here at the same time? No. Something drew us both here. Something is manipulating us, trying to control us. I can feel it. Even now it's calling me, drawing me..."

"Drawing you where?" she asked.

"I don't know!" he said sharply. "To the east this time. Back the way we came. Whatever we came here for, whatever purpose there was for us here, Zack has accomplished. Now he's heading back. Back east somewhere, but I'm not sure where. I just know I have to follow. He's...we're both being forced to do something, something evil. Now I'm stuck here and he's out there finishing the task, and he must not accomplish it. You've got to get me out of here now. Even waiting a day could be too late. I'm afraid I'm the only one who can stop him!"

Tifa looked at him. The desperation was obvious in his voice.

"Barret's talking to Illyanova now," she said. "I don't know whether he can help. He didn't sound very hopeful, but who knows? Maybe he can come up with something."

Cloud came over to the bars and grabbed her hand once more.

"You've got to get me out of here," he said, looking straight into her eyes. "You've got to. People are going to die unless we do something. Do you..."

But then he suddenly clutched his head and fell back with a cry.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed.

He stumbled and collapsed onto the floor, head in his hands. A low gurgling moan escaped from his lips.

"Guard!" Tifa called out, looking into the other room. She turned back toward him. "Cloud, are you all right?"

He lay on the floor, another moan escaped from him. But then he became still. The guard came in and looked at them both.

Cloud shook his head and looked up at them, the pain subsiding. He stood up slowly, grabbing the bars for support. Then he looked slowly at Tifa.

"You've got to," he said grimly.

* * *

Barret saw Tifa sitting at a table by the bar when he walked into the Inn. He went over to her immediately.

"So how did it go?" she asked as soon as she saw him.

He shook his head and sat down beside her.

"She says there's nothing she can do. She not going to release him. At least not without a hearing first. No one has ever violated the sanctity of the Hall of Records like that before. If she let him go now, the entire population of the Canyon would be up in arms."

"So when's the hearing?" she asked.

"In two days," Barret replied.

Tifa shook her head.

"We can't wait that long," she replied.

She told him what Cloud had said to her.

Barret rubbed his forehead.

"Well, they're not going to let him go," he said.

She did not reply, but slowly stood up, a look of resolve on her face.

He stood up too.

"Tifa, I know what you're thinking, and it's just going to cause more trouble," he said.

"Well, I've got to do something!" she said. "He says that Zack has to be stopped, and I believe him. I can't just sit here and do nothing."

Barret said nothing but looked at her. He could see the determination in her eyes. He had seen that before, and knew right away that argument was useless.

"I'll come with you," he said.

"No," she replied. "It's better if I do this myself. You're the Mayor of Corel. You've got a reputation to uphold."

Barret snorted.

"Besides," she continued. "Cloud is still behaving erratically. I don't know what he will do. I know he won't hurt me, but I wouldn't want to endanger anyone else. It'll be better if you get in touch with the others and tell them what's going on. We may need everyone's help before this is over."

Barret seemed reluctant, but finally he nodded. She turned and started for the door, but then she turned back as he called her name.

She looked at him and for a moment it seemed he was hesitant to speak.

"Look," he finally said, "I know you think Cloud wouldn't hurt you and isn't responisble for any of the deaths. But we both know he isn't acting like himself. Even if Cloud hasn't done any of the killing you can't tell me that Zack was responsible for everything that's happened. Cloud threatened you with his sword, and I don't think Zack snuck into Cid and Shera's house and cut off the heads of those stuffed animals. It's obvious Cloud is being influenced by something. I know you may not like this, but I have to say it. What if Cloud is being influenced to talk you into helping him? What if he's just using you to help him escape? What if you get him out and he really does end up killing someone?"

Tifa looked at Barret for a long time before answering. He could tell his words had struck home, for even when she finally spoke it was with difficulty.

"I guess I'll just have to live with that," she said softly.

Then she turned and walked out of the room.

Barret watched her leave, not happy at all with the way things seemed to be going. His best friends were in trouble, and there seemed to be nothing he could do to help them.

He walked out of the Inn and wandered down the street.

But maybe there was something he could do. They had been so focused on who was responsible no one had seemed to have asked why. Whether it had been Cloud or Zack who had killed those people in the Hall of Records they must have had some reason. What was it?

He strolled down the street until he stood in front of the Hall of Records. He walked up the steps. There was a guard at the door, but he let Barret pass.

He looked around. There were no bodies, and the blood had been cleaned up here. But he had been told that nothing else had been moved.

There were papers and books strewn across the tables, but a row of computers along the far wall was what caught his eye.

He walked over to them and looked at them one by one. He noticed that one of them was turned on.

Barret looked at it, but all it had on it was a welcoming message.

He lifted his head and looked around. There were no disks of CD's stored nearby. All the information here was stored in the main computer.

He looked at the screen again. When he did so he realized the welcoming message wasn't quite the only thing on the screen. Along the bottem was a list of choices. One of the choices was 'back'.

What the hell, the thought. His hand reached for the mouse and he clicked on it.

The screen changed. The welcome message was replaced by a banner that read 'Physican Database'. A password needed to be entered to proceed.

He clicked on back again. Then a few more times. All the screens had to do with doctors and hospitals. But suddenly a screen came up that said 'Shinra Employee Genetic Coding Archive'.

Barret looked at the screen for a moment. This database required a password as well.

He clicked on back again. More information on Shinra and it's employees.

Suddenly he heard a commotion outside. He could hear some people yelling something, their voices growing louder as they came near. He did not turn around to look.

He heard the guard by the door shout out a question asking what was going on. The man who replied must have been close by, for Barret heard the answer quite clearly.

"The prisoner from last night's massacre has escaped!"

Barret clicked the back key a few more times. Each time he saw more information about Shinra. Until finally he clicked it again and saw the now familiar welcoming message.

He got up and walked slowly back to the entrance. He could see guards running by outside. He didn't think all that running around was going to do them much good.

He stepped outside and looked around. He had no idea what to make of what he had seen on the computer, but he knew he was on the right track. He didn't know what was going on, it was just too complex for him, but he knew without a doubt that it was something big. More than ever before he felt they had to get to the bottem of this as fast as possible. Things were starting to look desperate.

It was time to call Red.


	8. So That's His Plan!

CHAPTER VII

SO THAT'S HIS PLAN!

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Red asked.

Reeve nodded.

They stood in an open field not far south of the City of the Ancients. They had seen no sign of the one they were pursuing. For some reason Red could not pick up her scent, and they had spent the last two days in a fruitless search of the surrounding area. It was all starting to look quite hopless, but Red seemed convinced that she had not left the area.

Barret had contacted them earlier that morning and explained to them what was happening back at Cosmo Canyon. Red had agreed to go back, and now they stood waiting for Cid to come pick them up in the Slipstream.

Reeve had volunteered to remain behind.

He wasn't sure why he did it. Actually it seemed kind of pointless to him. The chances of his finding her were miniscule without Red's help, but he felt he had to do something. His friends had been so supportive of him all this time, perhaps if he stayed he could somehow do something for them.

Red looked up, scanning the skies to the south.

"Here he comes," he said.

Reeve looked up, but saw and heard nothing for a moment. But then he detected a low rumbling sound, obvious to Red's more sensitive ears first, apparently.

He couldn't see the jet at first, but then he spotted it high in the sky to the south. It approached rapidly, until the rumble of it's engines had turned to a roar. The Slipstream flew over the field, then circled round and came back, slowing down until it hovered almost directly above them. Then it eased down to a landing near the center of the field.

The door slid open, and Red could see Cid beckoning to him.

Red turned to Reeve once more.

"I don't think I can properly thank you for helping me," he said.

"Forget it," Reeve said quickly. "You have no reason to thank me. I haven't done anything yet and it seems unlikely that I will."

Red looked at him thoughtfully.

"Don't underestimate yourself," he said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Reeve nodded. Red turned and started toward the Slipstream. But then he turned back.

"Farewell," he said. "Take care of yourself. And do try to stay out of trouble."

Reeve just smiled weakly and waved.

He watched as Red boarded the Slipstream. Then the black jet rose into the air once more. It quickly turned and in a moment had disappered above the trees to the south.

Reeve stood there watching the empty sky for a while. Then he turned and walked away from the field, back to the trail. He was truely alone now, and he felt it. But he knew if he had gone back now he would have felt even worse. He had caused nothing but trouble so far. This was the least he could do.

He reached the trail and look down it in both directions. It was deserted. Not much of a surprise there. Still, he had hoped...

He glanced down the trail one more time.

He had hoped to see Aeris.

What had happened to her? Barret told them she had left in the early evening the day of Shera's baby shower. Barret had been surprised when they told him she had not arrived here yet. Something must have happened to her.

Just another thing to worry about. Barret had brought them up to date on the happenings at Cosmo Canyon. It seemed like things were falling apart all over the place.

Still, there was nothing he could do about any of that. But he had to admit the fact that Aeris may have been delayed somehow and could still show up here had played a part in his decision to stay. He hoped she was all right.

He sighed and started walking slowly down the trail, back north towards the City of the Ancients once more. He slung his stick over his shoulder. He had decided to hold onto the branch he had used to slay that extremely non vicious dragonfly like creature. Who knows, perhaps it would work as well against something that was a real threat. In any case, it was almost certainly better than nothing.

He wandered down the trail, looking at the forest around him every one in a while. He still couldn't get used to the weird plants.

He had no plan in mind. He had no idea which direction she may have gone in, and he seriously doubted he would run into her now that Red was gone. About all he had going for him at this point was blind luck.

But as he continued down the trail he began to think maybe that was not true. He had followed Red without much thought throughout this whole episode, convinced that Red's nose would find her. Now that that option was no longer available to him he would have to use other means. He would have to think.

Where would he go if he were a red lion like beast wandering around in this ancient forest?

That didn't seem to be helping much. He wasn't Red, he couldn't think like her. But all creatures needed certain things. Food, water, shelter. He supposed she could get food anywhere in the forest, and she could shelter under a tree, for all he knew. But the only open water he knew of was the small lake outside the shell house where they had run into her the other day.

It really didn't seem like much to go on, but it was all he had. For all he knew there could be a stream or another body of water nearby in the forest that he had no knowledge of. Still, if was either that or wander around without a clue.

He made his way back up the trail until he stood once more beside the shell house next to the lake. He looked around for a moment, then walked off into the woods until he found a comfortable spot concealed in some bushes downwind of the lake.

He sat down, not really expecting much to come of this, but he felt better now that he had some kind of plan. All he could do now was sit and wait.

* * *

Reno led the others up the narrow steps carved into the rock face that led up to Cosmo Canyon. They had lost the trail (again) a few miles north of here, but it had seemed to be headed straight in this direction. He didn't know whether the Swordsman would actually come into the Canyon, but it was worth a look. Besides, they were a little low on supplies.

They walked into the town proper. Reno looked around. There seemed to be a lot more Canyon Guards on the street than he had ever seen before. He wondered if something was going on.

He led them straight to the Inn. The Turks sat down at the bar, while Vincent took a table by himself in a dark corner. Yuffie disappeared.

Reno ordered them drinks. The bartender brought them over. Reno took a gulp and glanced at Elena.

He didn't know what Vincent had said to her, but it obviously had not been an afirmation of his love. They had hardly spoken to each other since, but she did seem to have calmed down some. At least she wasn't acting like a lovesick schoolgirl anymore.

She suddenly turned toward him, noticing him looking at her.

"I told you," he said.

She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Huh?"

"Vampires are notoriously unreliable."

Elena shook her head.

"And I told you," she replied, "that you're an idiot!"

Reno chuckled.

"Think what you want, but you're going about it all wrong."

Elena didn't say anything for a moment, just took a sip from her drink. She knew was going to regret it, but she had to ask anyway.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a classic case," he replied knowingly. "He likes you, but he doesn't want to show it. You've got to force his hand."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" she asked. Since when had he become such an expert on love? Suddenly she just couldn't wait to here this.

Reno glance back at Vincent, then slipped his arm around her and smiled warmly.

"By making him jealous, of course," he said. "Why don't you and I retire to one of the rooms upstairs. That should really get his attention."

Elena looked at him for a moment without answering. Suddenly she smiled warmly.

"Oh Reno, I think that's a wonderful idea," she said, batting her eyes at him shamelessly. Then she burst out laughing. She just couldn't do this with a straight face.

"You really do have a death wish, don't you?" she said, then took another gulp from her drink.

Reno just looked at her for a moment, then let go.

He picked up his own glass and smiled.

"I guess I do," he agreed.

The door to the Inn opened. Reno turned to see Barret Wallace walk in.

Barret looked around and saw the Turks sitting at the bar. He frowned. Then he saw Vincent and walked over to him.

Barret sat down and looked at Vincent.

"What are they doing here?"

Vincent told them what they had been doing the last few days. As he spoke Barret's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"This Swordsman fellow has a weapon just like Cloud's?" he asked.

Vincent nodded.

"And his trail led in this direction?"

Again, Vincent agreed.

Barret whistled.

"I can't believe it," he said. "It looks like Tifa was right all along."

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked.

Barret filled Vincent in on what had happened the last couple of days.

Now it was Vincents turn to look surprised.

"So you think the Swordsman is this Zack person?" he said when Barret was done.

Barret nodded.

"It seems like too much of a coincidence to be otherwise, don't you think?"

Vincent nodded. He had to agree.

"So what do you think he's up to?" Vincent questioned.

"I don't know," Barret replied. "Red is at the Hall of Records right now trying to figure it all out. Whatever it is, I'm sure we won't like it."

"There's something else you should know," Vincent said. He told Barret about Aeris rod.

Barret looked troubled.

"I don't like this news at all," he muttered. It was obvious the Swordsman was ruthless. Who knows what he would do with a girl like Aeris. But then he remembered something.

"Hey, didn't he used to be a boyfriend of hers or something?" he said.

Vincent shrugged.

"I haven't the slightest idea."

Barret sat for a moment in thought. Even if there was some old tie between Zack and Aeris, they couldn't depend on that protecting her. Now they had even more incentive to find the Swordsman as soon as possible.

"It looks like we're all after the same thing," he said thoughtfully.

Vincent nodded slowly.

"Perhaps we should pool our resources," he suggested.

Barret looked over at the Turks, a frown forming on his face. But then he shook his head.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but that would probably be best."

Vincent broke into a grin.

"I can't wait to here what Reno will have to say about this," he said.

* * *

It was nearly dusk when Red burst into the Inn. He looked around and ran over to the others as soon as he saw them.

"C'mon," he said. "We've got to get to Rocket Town immediately."

"What's the rush?" Reno questioned. Red seemed very agitated.

"No time to explain now. Just hurry!" he replied.

He turned and swfitly left the Inn. As they exited Barret almost bowled over Yuffie.

"Hey, watch where you're going, ya big lug," she exclaimed.

Barret ignored her and hurried after Red, who was now traveling so fast they had to run to keep up.

"Hey, where's everybody going?" Yuffie questioned and fell in behind.

Red led them on, disappearing down the steep steps that led out of the canyon. When the others reached the bottem they found him standing beside a buggy.

"Hurry up," he said, indicating for them to get in. "There's no time to lose."

Barret slipped into the drivers seat, the others piling in behind. Yuffie found herself crushed between Vincent and Reno.

"Gawd!" she said, giving Reno a shove. "Can't a lady have a little breathing room?"

Reno considered scolding her for using the term 'lady' so loosely, but then thought better of it.

As they accelerated across the canyon floor, Barret glanced at Red.

"What the hell is this all about?" he questioned.

"I think I know what's going on," Red replied. "And it's not good."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," Reno commented.

"I took a look at the CD you gave me on Cloud," Red said, looking at Barret. "It appears to be a genetic code. It looks like Hojo made a gene map of everyone involved in the Jenova Project. A remarkable feat, actually. There are millions of genes on each chromosome in a human, to be able to map them all is something..."

"Can we just have the readers digest version?" Yuffie said impatiently.

Red looked at her for a moment.

"Quite," he said. "It looks like Hojo is trying to make a clone of himself."

"What?" Barret said.

"But Hojo's dead," Elena exclaimed. "Isn't he?"

"Indeed he is," Red replied. "But I have found some of his notes about a secret project he was working on, just in case of his untimely death. You see, he had all the materials available to create a clone, but obviously after he was dead, he would need someone else to carry out the project for him. What better people to use than those in the Jenova project, whom he was already experimenting with and had easy access to. So everyone he infused with Jenova cells, he also implanted a bioprogram that would activate on a amplified signal from a computer program he created for just such a purpose. I, of course, was in the Jenova project, but I was never actually infused with Jenova cells. Of all those who were, only Cloud and Zack have survived."

"So Hojo is controlling them with some kind of computer program?" Barret said doubtfully.

"It appears that way," Red replied. "Though I'm not sure of the exact mechanism."

"And he's going to use them to create a clone of himself?" Reno said.

"Yes," Red responded. "He must have left some of his own genetic material stored in Nibelheim. I guess that must have been what was in that container you saw there," he continued, looking at Barret again. "That must have been what Zack was after. There was obviously another CD with Hojo's genetic code on it as well. Though what he is creating is not exactly a clone. What he has done is created a kind of Hojo virus. If the genetic material that Zack has taken is injected into an unborn child, Hojo's genetic material will slowly replace the child's original DNA. He'll have a clone, but he won't have to start from scratch."

"So he can just take this virus and inject it into any unborn child and we'll have another Hojo?" Elena asked.

"Not any child," Red replied. "The more compatable the child's original DNA is to Hojo's, the greater the likelyhood of success. That's why Zack had to come here, to Cosmo Canyon. We've got all Shinra's old records. It turns out that Shinra kept a genetic map of everyone who ever worked for them. Not as complete as Hojo's of course, but comprehensive enough. Zack matched those records against Hojo's DNA CD to rank everyone depending on how well they matched. Then he used the Doctor's and Hospital records stored in the computer to find out if any of the closest matches were pregnant. Whoever that person was, that's who he would go after."

"And you're going to tell us that the closest match was Shera," Reno stated.

Red nodded.

"I'm afraid so. I told Illyanova to try to contact Cid with the PHS, but in the meantime I think it would be best if we got to Rocket Town as fast as possible. I'm afraid both Cid and Shera are in deadly danger."

* * *

"Why are we back here?" Aeris asked as they made their way through the outskirts of Rocket Town.

"I don't know," Altim replied. They were walking near the back of Zack's gang, as they had been for most of the day. Zack had been pushing them all to maintain a fast pace the last few days, with few rests along the way. He was driving them hard, and they were all near exhaustion.

Altim looked at Aeris carefully. He could tell she was tired too, but she kept up her pace and did not complain or lag behind.

At the moment he was in charge of their prisoner, delegated with the responsibility of keeping an eye on her and making sure she did not escape. It was a job he found himself doing more and more now that it was known around camp that he would pay a decent sum of gil for the honor.

Not that he thought she would try to escape anyway. She had marched along with them since she had been caught without making any attempts to leave. To tell you the truth, he suspected the idea hadn't even entered her mind.

Shu had not been happy to hear his interest. He had told Altim in no uncertain terms that even hinting that he might be interested in their prisoner would be the fastest way could think of to a quick and painful death.

Altim had to admit that the knowing glances and whispered words whenever he was seen with Aeris might have made him nervous had he thought the Swordsman noticed, not that it would have stopped him. But even after learning that Aeris knew of his past, the Swordsman had hardly spoken to her, or shown any interest in her at all. It seemed strange to Altim, but he wasn't about to complain.

Now that he thought about it, the Swordsman seemed to have been acting strangely ever since he had taken over. They had been scurrying about the countryside, seemingly at random, with no apparent plan in mind. They had not attacked any convoys, or made any large hauls at all. In fact, the only gil they had obtained since the Swordsman took over was from a few solitary travlers they had run into by chance on the road. Bennis had been no genius, but they had had a lot more gil in their pockets when he had been leading them. Altim had heard a lot of grumbling lately from others wondering if the change in leadership was turning out to be such a good idea.

Still, the complaining had so far been confined to muttered discussions and vague grumbling. No one had said anything in front of the Swordsman's face.

"Do you know what he has in mind?" Aeris asked.

"The Swordsman?" Altim said. "No. All I know is that he's been acting pretty strangely lately. Was he always like this?"

Aeris shook her head.

"No, not at all," she replied. "He's changed. He used to be kind and honorable. He's nothing like the man I used to know."

She looked up ahead. She could see Zack up at the head of the group, leading the way slowly into town. He happened to glance back, and she almost thought he looked at her, but then he turned away.

No, she realized. What she had just told Altim was not completely true. There were some similarities to the old Zack. The way he stood, the tall square shoulders, the air of authority and the look of confidence in his eye. Those were things she remembered of him, things that hadn't changed.

"I don't know why he's acting like this now," she said. "But I don't think it's entirely his choice. I know someone else, someone quite similar, actually..."

Her voice faded into silence for a moment.

"Who seems to be suffering from problems similar to Zack's," she continued. "I think they are being influenced by some outside force."

"To what purpose?"

"I don't know," Aeris replied. "But I don't think it is going to be to his benefit."

The sun was low on the horizen, but still glowed a brilliant red in the dusky western sky. They were walking through the center of town now. Aeris thought this unusual. Up to now Zack had avoided bringing the entire party into any town.

Suddenly Aeris frowned, looking where Zack was leading them. Could he possibly be going where she thought he was going.

She quickened her pace, moving closer to the front of the group.

"Hey, what's your rush?" Altim questioned.

She turned to look at him.

"I need to see what he's doing," she replied. She turned and hurried forward, Altim right behind her. There could be no doubt about it now, Zack was headed straight for Cid and Shera's house.

* * *

"Brittany," Shera said.

"Sounds too english," Cid replied.

"Maria?" she suggested.

"Boring."

Shera thought for a minute.

"Okay, how about Jennifer?"

"There's six other kids on the block already named that," Cid replied. He sat back in his chair and blew a smoke ring.

"Besides," he continued. "How do you know it's not going to be a boy?"

"I don't," she replied. "I just assumed if it were it would be Cid Jr."

Cid grinned.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Shera walked into the bedroom.

"Tiffany?" he heard her call out.

"Too fragile," he responded.

She stuck her head back in the room to look at him.

"So what do you suggest?" she asked.

He sat there for a moment puffing thoughtfully on his cigarette.

"Velocity."

"What?"

"Velocity," he repeated.

She stepped back into the room and looked at him.

"Have you totally lost your mind?"

"What's wrong with Velocity?" he questioned.

Shera shook her head.

"Velocity Highwind. You would come up with something like that."

Cid looked at her and shrugged.

She walked back into the other room.

"Lara?"

Cid rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful.

"That's not bad."

Suddenly they were interrupted by a ringing sound.

"The PHS," Cid said in surprise. "They must have found out something."

He got up and reached for the PHS as Shera came back into the room.

Suddenly the front door burst open. A tall man with jet black hair stepped in, a huge sword in his hand. He was followed by half a dozen other men.

"What the hell is this?" Cid exclaimed. He stepped quickly over to the couch and grabbed hold of his spear.

Zack looked around for a moment, then his eyes fell on Shera.

"Get her," he said.

Cid stepped in front of Shera.

"I don't know what you people want, but take one more step forward and I'll kick your ass," he growled.

One of the men lunged at him. He dodged to the side and struck back with his spear. The man went down with a cry.

Cid turned and looked at the others, anger welling up inside him.

"Get the hell out of my house," he exclaimed and lunged straight at Zack.

He didn't see Aeris suddenly appear in the doorway.

Nor did he hear her voice.

"Cid, no!"

Zack's sword flashed, parrying Cid's blow and almost wrenching the spear from his hand, and throwing him off balance. The sword came back again, faster than he could follow. It slashed across him, and blood flew from it.

Shera screamed.

Cid fell to the ground.

Zack raised his sword again, but suddenly Aeris rushed in between them. She knelt down and looked at Cid, almost gasping at the sight of the gaping wound across his abdomen. His eyes were open, and he looked at her, a soft moan escaping from his lips. She wrapped her arms around him and bowed her head.

For a long moment no one moved. Altim, who had followed Aeris in, saw the Swordsman standing over Aeris and Cid, his sword still poised to attack, but not moving. Aeris kneeling down beside Cid, her eyes closed. He thought he could see her lips moving slowly. The only sound was of Shera crying softly.

A sudden breeze blew through the house. Altim wondered where it had come from. The evening had been still, with no sign of any wind. And besides, this breeze seemed to have come from inside the house.

Aeris opened her eyes. She looked at Cid, who returned her gaze, his eyes clear.

"You'll be okay," she said softly. "I've done what I can. It should keep you until the others get here. Just don't try to get up. He'll kill you, Cid. Please. Just let us go. I'll make sure nothing happens to Shera. You have my word. Just don't get up."

She looked at him with tears starting to form in her own eyes.

Cid looked at her for a moment. He did not move.

"Please," she said again.

Finally he nodded.

Aeris slowly stood up.

She turned to look at Zack. They stood there staring at one another for a long time, but neither one said anything.

Suddenly Zack reached out and grabbed her arm with a grip so tight it almost made her cry out.

"Let's get out of here," he said angrily. He looked at Shera once again.

"Bring her along."

He dragged Aeris roughly out of the room. The others followed. Cid lay on the ground, watching them until the room was empty. Slowly he pulled himself up. He groaned. Apparently Aeris healing had not done a complete job. He looked blankly at the open doorway. He felt his heart was going to burst inside his chest, yet even so his face remained expressionless.

"Shera," he said softly.


	9. The Sins of the Father

CHAPTER VIII

THE SINS OF THE FATHER

Cloud sat on the steps in front of the villa in Costa Del Sol. A group of kids were playing soccer in the street, dodging around the tourists in their pursuit of the ball. Beyond them there was a low sewall, and then the golden sand of the beach, covered even more thickly with tourists. Beyond that, the deep blue of the ocean.

He felt better the last couple of days. Not better as in cured, but better as in not being so depressed. The fact that Tifa had seen Zack, that she believed him, had been a tremendous relief. Though he wasn't sure exactly why. If there was a plan involved, if this was something that was caused by what had been done to him, then he felt their chances of finding a cure were greater. It made him feel like he wasn't just cracking up for no reason. Knowing someone else was involved made it somehow better, made him feel like he wasn't alone. But of course he had never been alone. His friends were suffering almost as much as he.

He looked up and saw Tifa walking toward him, a bag in her arms. She had gone out earlier to pick up some supplies for them.

No, he wasn't alone. They had all been supportive of him.

Especially Tifa.

They wouldn't be going through this if only he were stronger, he thought. But he had never been that. He hadn't had the strength of will to finish the SOLDIER program. He had been easily manipulated by Sephrioth. He had not been able to protect Aeris. He had always been weak.

Strange how things had worked out. The reason he had left Nibelheim in the first place, so long ago, was to join SOLDIER and become a warrior like Sephiroth. To show Tifa that he was strong. But now here it was years later and he didn't seem any closer to that goal. Physical strength he had attained, but mental strength still eluded him.

"My, don't we look serious," Tifa said as she came up to him.

He managed a weak smile.

"Just thinking," he replied.

"Something you've been doing entirely too much of lately," she said. "Cloud, it's a beautiful day. You're in the middle of a resort town. People all around us are laughing, playing, and having fun. There's a gorgeous beach not a hundred yards away. Let's go down there. I think it would do us both a lot of good to forget about our troubles for once."

He shook his head slowly. It seemed the harder he tried to be strong the more difficult his life became. Perhaps he was just trying too hard.

"C'mon," Tifa cajoled, misinterpreting his head shake. "Just for a little while? I've bought a new bathing suit."

Cloud smiled and then nodded.

"Sure, why not?" he said. She was right. He couldn't remember the last time they had had any relaxation. It would do them both good.

He stood up and they started back toward the Inn. But then he stopped suddenly and stared out over the ocean to the east.

Tifa turned to look at him.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

He didn't reply for a moment, then turned to her and nodded.

"Yes," he answered. "I just felt...something. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, but when we leave tomorrow, I know where we have to go."

She waited for him to continue, but he did not, only stood there looking at the ocean. Up to now they had been heading eastward with no particular destination in mind. All Cloud could say was that they needed to go in this direction, but he had mentioned no specific location. She came up beside him and looked out at the watery expanse as well.

"So where are we going?" she asked.

She stood beside him, but he did not turn to look at her.

"Midgar."

* * *

Reeve woke with a start. He didn't know how long he had been sleeping. It had been early evening when he had dozed off, a streak of light still hugging the western horizen, but now it was dark.

He stretched and yawned, his leg aching from being cramped beneath him. He had spent last evening and all of today waiting and watching in his makeshift blind, but he had seen nothing.

He looked around slowly, blinking in the dim light. He could barely make out the lake in the distance, with the shell house as a dark shadow behind it. And beneath that shadow, a small darker one.

He stopped for a moment and stared, holding his breath, not really sure if he were seeing anything at all. But then the shadow moved, and he saw the outline of a feline padding along the lake.

He stood stone still, afraid any movement he made would give him away and send her darting swiftly into the darkness of the forest, where he knew he would lose her instantly.

But she did not detect him. She stood by the lake for some time, right on the shore. He supposed she was drinking her fill, but he could not see her clearly enough to be sure.

He heard a far off buzzing that he immediately recognized as the drone of one of the giant dragonflies. He had heard it off and on the night before as well, but none had come close to him again.

He ignored the sound.

She sat by the edge of the lake for quite some time. Reeve watched her the whole time, afraid to move. After a while his leg began to ache.

Finally she moved away from the lake. She made her way over until she stood by the entrance to the shell house. She remained there for a while without moving, as if deciding on something. Then she suddenly stepped inside and disappeared from view.

Reeve got up slowly, stretching out his legs. He stood there for a moment, not sure of what to do. But then he suddenly started toward the house himself. He didn't know what she would do if confronted by him without Red, but he knew he couldn't pass up this opportunity. There was only one entrance to the house. If he reached it before she came out, she would not be able to run away from him.

The buzzing sound faded away behind him. The night was strangely quiet here. The moom was just a faint sliver on the horizen. All around him was darkness and silence.

He reached the entrance to the house. She was nowhere in sight. It was dark inside, and for a moment he hesitated. He didn't know what was in there. He didn't know how she would react if he cornered her. She was smaller than Red, but she still looked big enought to tear him limb from limb without too much difficulty.

He took a deep breath and then stepped into the building.

He found himself in a wide hallway that circled around the house. He slowly worked his way up the sloping floor, expecting any moment to run across her, but he saw no sign of her. Eventually he reached the crystal stairway the led down into the actual City of the Ancients.

He had come in here a couple of times before with Red, but never at night. He was surprised to see that the stairway was illuminated in a pale glowing light.

He walked slowly down the stairs. He could see the city below him now. The pale light lit it quite clearly, but he could see no source to the glow. Then he realized that the light emenated from the buildings themselves.

He reached the bottem and looked around. Not only the buildings were glowing, but the streets as well. He stepped over to the nearest structure and examined it. It was made of a smooth stonelike material that he had never seen anywhere else. All the buildings seemed to be made of it, and the streets as well. They all glowed with a pale blue light. It was not like sunlight, of any type of electric light he had ever seen. The buildings themselves showed no sign of decay, even though they had not been inhabited for years. It all contributed to the sense of otherworldliness he had felt since the first day they had arrived here, only more so now.

He looked around. He saw no sign of his quarry, but he knew she had to be down here somewhere. There was just no other way she could have gone.

He glanced back at the steps. They way out was in plain view. She could not get out without him at least seeing her.

He walked slowly down the street. To his right was a railing, beyond which was the shallow artificial lake in the center of the city. He could see the small gazebolike structure not far ahead of him. The spot where Aeris...

He didn't even want to think about that.

He heard a low growl to his left.

He turned quickly, the hair rising on the back of his neck. She stood in a narrow alley between two buildings, not ten feet away from him. She was crouched down, ready to spring. Her red eyes glaring at him angrily.

She stood there for a moment, unmoving. Then suddenly she sprang forward.

He brought up his hands, covering his head, a cry of terror escaping his lips in spite of his attempt to prevent it. She landed on top of him, her weight driving him back and down. He fell to the ground, with her on top. He made no attempt to fight back, or to defend himself. He knew he was no match for her. He covered his head and gritted his teeth, and waited for her claws to tear into him.

But it didn't happen. For a few seconds he just lay there, then he risked lowering his arms.

She stood over him, her claws extended with one paw resting on his chest. He could see her red eyes staring right at him. But she did not attack.

"Why are you hounding me!" she exclaimed.

For a moment he lay there in shock. Although he knew she was of Red's species and could very well know how to talk, it still surprised him somehow when she actually did.

"I...we, I don't want to. I didn't want to. I mean, I'm not trying to hound you," he stammered. "We just wanted to talk to you. To meet you. Red, I mean Nanaki, he's been looking for one of his own kind for a long time. I'm a friend of his. Didn't you see me with him?"

She growled low in her throat.

"Of course I did," she spate out. "He's come to take me back, just like my father warned me would happen. Well I won't go. I won't go back to Cosmo Canyon to face their justice."

Reeve shook his head vigorously.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "We just wanted to talk to you. Nanaki, has been searching so long for one of his own kind. You're the only one left."

She bent her head lower, looking at him carefully, and for the first time the anger in her eyes seemed to diminish a bit.

"What do you mean, the only one?"

"Nanaki is the only one of your species left at Cosmo Canyon. There are no others. For the longest time, he thought he was the only one. And then he saw you. Can you blame him for doing everything in his power to track you down?"

She stared at him, and now he could see no anger in her eyes at all, just surprise and dismay.

"None, none at all?" she said slowly. "My people are all gone?"

She looked at him again.

He nodded.

"That's why he wanted to meet you," he said. "He's lived almost his whole life alone. Ever since his parents died defending Cosmo Canyon from the Gi. Now he's taken Seto's place as guardian, but..."

He stopped when he suddenly saw her eyes widen in surprise. Then the anger rushed back into them.

She growled again, and bared her teeth, her claws pinching into his flesh.

"I don't believe you!" she shouted. She raised her claw and he shrank back and closed his eyes.

Again the blow did not fall. When he opened his eyes this time she was gone. He looked back and saw her running up the steps until she disappeared at the top.

He lay there for a moment pulling himself back togther. Then he slowly stood up.

Well, it hadn't gone as well as he hoped, but at least she hadn't killed him.

* * *

"Any word?" Cid asked.

Barret shook his head.

"Nothing yet. We'll see what the others have to say."

"Damn," Cid muttered.

It had been two days since Zack had taken Shera, and the others had been searching frantically for some sign of him, but they had found nothing. Zack seemed to realize that what he had done would put many people on his trail, and had covered his tracks even more carefully than usual. He seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

Cid was on the couch in the living room of his house, a bandage wrapped around him waist. The fact that the others were out searching for Shera, while he had to sit here, was maddening. Still, he knew he had to rest. Even now, two days after the incident, he could barely walk on his own.

The others had all scattered around the area looking for clues as to where Zack had gone. Slowly they returned, but each one had nothing more to report than Barret had.

Vincent was the last to arrive. The sun had just sunk below the horizen when he came in. He had headed east, toward Costa Del Sol, and he had traveled the farthest of them all.

They all looked at him as he walked in, but he said nothing.

"Well," Barret prompted. "Did you find anything?"

"Not exactly," Vincent replied. "I found no sign of Zack. But a couple fitting Cloud and Tifa's description took passage aboard a boat from Costa Del Sol to Junon yesterday."

No one spoke for a moment as they all digested this latest bit of information.

"So you think they're following Zack?" Yuffie asked.

"It would seem the obvious conclusion," Red stated.

"But why would they be going to Junon?" Elena asked.

"We don't know that Junon is their ultimate destination," Red said. "That's where the harbour is. They could be going anywhere from there."

"Still, at least we've got a starting point now," Yuffie said.

"That's not really much of a clue," Reno stated. "It's a big continent. They could get lost just as easliy there as they did here. Don't get your hopes up."

Barret had been standing silently as they discussed this, lost in thought. Suddenly he spoke.

"They're going to Midgar," he stated.

"Huh?" Elena said.

"They're going to Midgar," he repeated. "Where else could it be? If Hojo is behind this, if they need anything else that was left behind by him, they would have to be going to Midgar. That's where his lab was, wasn't it? I just can't see any reason for them to go anyplace else."

"We don't know what there reasoning is," Vincent said. "We don't know if they need anything else. Who would have predicted they needed to go to Cosmo Canyon?"

"But we know what they're after now," Barret replied. "We know what they are trying to do. Can you think of anyplace else they would be going?"

Vincent did not reply.

"I agree with you," Red said. "If Cloud and Tifa arrived in Junon yesterday they could probably reach Midgar tonight, assuming they went straight there. If we take the Slipstream we could be there in half an hour. But if we are wrong we could be wasting time that could better be spent trying to pick up their trail in Junon."

"So what do you think we should do?" Reno asked. "Split up?"

"Does anybody seriously think they could be going anywhere but Midgar?" Barret questioned. "If it's going to go down there, we may need everyone's help. We'll have to fight both Zack and his gang, plus any monsters that might get in our way. You know Midgar is just chock full of them, and if we leave now we'll arrive there at night, when they'll be out in force. Plus we still don't know what Cloud is going to do. We may have to contend with him as well. I think we need everyone to stay together. If we're right, we're going to need all the help we can get."

Red looked at him.

"Barret, you're arguing with impeccable logic. I'm shocked."

"Well, I sure ain't no Einstein, but I can see what's in front of my face," he replied.

"Well, those are the choices then," Red said. "Does anyone think we should check out Junon first?"

He looked around but no one spoke.

"Very well, let's get our gear together and head for Midgar."

Cid pulled himself to his feet.

"I'll go warm up the Slipstream," he said.

"I think it would be better if..." Red started.

"Don't even bother trying," Cid cut him off. "It's my wife they've got, Goddammit. I'll be damned if I'm going to sit around here on my ass while you guys risks your lives to save her. I may not be in such great shape, but I'm still the best damn pilot you guys are gonna find. So just shutup and let's get going."

The others just looked at him for moment, but none of them would dare to challange his statement after seeing the smoldering fire in his eyes.

"All right then," Barret said. "You heard the man. Let's move out!"

* * *

Reeve didn't know why he returned to the city of the Ancients the following evening. Perhaps he was just drawn by the strangeness of it all, the glowing buildings and streets that seemed untouched by time. There was something eerie about the place but something incredibly peaceful as well. He felt somehow safe here yet he did not understand why. He knew the place offered no special protection. It certainly hadn't for Aeris.

Maybe the one he was after had been drawn by the same thing, and would return. Perhaps that's why he came back. But that seemed like nonsense. After what had happened, he didn't think she'd ever come back here again. She was probably miles away by now.

So it came as quite a surprise when he turned and saw her walking slowly down the street toward him.

He stood there while she approached, not sure what to do. He knew fleeing would be useless, she could easily outpace him. Not that he really had the urge to run anyway. The way she was approaching did not indicate anger, only curiousity.

She stopped a few feet from him and stared at him without speaking.

"I didn't think you'd come back," he said.

She did not reply at first, just continued to look at him. He could not read her expression.

"I'm not sure why I have," she said slowly. There was no anger in her voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"That's apparent," she replied. "That may be one of the reasons I returned. You're here alone, unarmed, unless you can call that stick a weapon. You're not much of a threat."

Thanks a lot, he thought. But it was true.

"My name is Reeve."

She hesitated a moment.

"Nipala, daughter of Merko."

She looked at him carefully as she said this, but of course, it meant nothing to him.

"I don't understand," he said. "What were you talking about yesterday, when you said you wouldn't go back to Cosmo Canyon. What happened to you?"

"Nothing happened to me," she replied. For a moment he thought that was all she was going to say. But then she continued.

"It was my father. He was negotiating with a tribe that had moved into the territory north of Cosmo Canyon. The tribe appeared friendly and peaceful, and my father negotiated in good faith. But they betrayed him. They pretended to be friendly to gain trust, then they attacked the Canyon. Fortunately they were not successful. They were beaten off and destroyed. But my father was accused of collaborating with them. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. But before he could kill him he fled with my mother. If he ever went back they would have killed him, as they would do to me if I ever went there."

"You?" Reeve said in surprise. "Why you? You had nothing to do with it, did you?"

"No, I wasn't yet born at the time," she replied. "But the law of the Canyon states that once a death sentence had been ordered, it must be carried out, no matter how long it takes, and it carries over to that persons descendents."

Reeve looked at her for a moment in surprise.

"Now wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You're father is no longer alive, I assume?"

"He died twenty three years ago," she said. "And my mother eleven."

"So he's dead. The sentence has been carried out," Reeve said.

She shook her head.

"Not according to Cosmo Canyon law. He was not executed following Canyon tradition. According to our laws, I would have to pay for his misdeeds. If I went back to Cosmo Canyon now they would execute me."

Reeve shook his head. This whole thing just didn't make any sense. Cosmo Canyon was one of the most liberal and open cities he had ever visited. He couldn't believe they would have a law like that. He was no expert on Cosmo Canyon law, of course, but he had never heard of anything like that. Then he thought of something.

"Exactly how long ago was this?"

She thought for a moment before answering.

"Five hundred and forty three years," she replied.

Reeve almost burst out laughing. He had forgotten how long lived Red's species was.

"Five hundred years," he repeated. "Then you have no idea how things have changed there. Five hundred years ago Cosmo Canyon was fighting for survival against dozens of other tribes. But it's all different now. The wars are long over. The Canyon has been at peace for years. It has become a center of knowledge and learning that is the envy of every other city on the continent. In the world in fact. Your law is archaic. It probably doesn't even exist anymore."

She shrugged.

"I suppose that's possible, but what if it hasn't been changed?"

"Well then I'm sure they would change it. The law is obviously out of touch with the times. Even if it's still on the books, I'm sure Red would make sure it was changed. He's the guardian of Cosmo Canyon now, I'm sure he wouldn't let some archaic law stand in the way of your returning. Especially since you are the only other member of his race that is still alive."

"I'm not so sure he would do that," she said slowly.

"Of course he would," Reeve replied. "I've know Red for a long time now. He's one of the most fair minded people I've ever met. There's no doubt in my mind he can get this all straigtened out for you in no time."

"But you don't understand," she replied. "The one who accused my father of collaborating with the enemy in the first place was Seto!"

Reeve eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Red's father? He was the one who accused your father of his crime?"

She nodded.

"They were both well respected in the Canyon. They were both viing to become the next Guardian. Seto had no real proof, only suspicions, but he saw it as a chance to strike a fatal blow to his rival. It was all political."

Reeve did not respond. He found it hard to believe Red's father would do such a thing. But when he thought about it he realized he only believed that because of what he knew about Red. He had never met Seto, who had died long before he was born. He had no idea what he had been like. Of course, it was also quite possible that Nipala's father hadn't quite been accurate with his account of the events either. But what difference did it make now?

"I understand your hesitation, but I don't think Red is going to hold it against you. It all happened a long time ago to people who are now dead. None of it was your or Red's fault."

She did not reply. She had spent all her life running and hiding, not trusting anyone, and for good reason. Her people had marked her for death, both her parents had been killed by human hunters. Her distrust had kept her alive all this time, why should she change that now?

She glanced back the way she had come. She could turn around right now and leave here. Move on like she had so many times in the past. It would be the prudent thing to do, and the man before her certainly could not stop her, of follow her.

But she was tired of running. She was alive, yes, but what kind of life was it? She kept telling herself that she didn't care about Cosmo Canyon, which she had never seen. She kept telling herself that she did not need anyone. But it wasn't true. The simple fact that she had come back here at all proved that.

"I want to believe you..." she started to say, but suddenly she crouched down and turned to look at the stairway leading down into the city.

A man stood there.

Reeve followed her gaze and saw Danneko as well. He held his gun casually in his hands. He hadn't seen them yet.

She turned back toward him, her eyes filled with anger again.

"A trick?" she snarled.

"No," he answered immediately. "No trick. I didn't know he was here. I swear it."

She stood there for a moment, unsure of herself, of him. No human had dealt with her honestly before, she was a fool to have thought it would happen now.

She turned and bolted down the street. In a moment she was gone.

"Nipala," he said softly, knowing she could not hear, but also knowing that it would be her death to shout. Then he ran after her.

* * *

Danneko walked slowly down the steps into the city. He had heard vague rumors about the city of the Ancients, but he had never seen it before. The rumors did not do it justice.

He reached the bottem of the stairs. He walked over and examined one of the buildings, just as Reeve had done the first time he had come here, the first time he had seen the mysterious glow. But Dannekko quickly turned away. He had other things on his mind.

He knew he was finally closing in on his quarry. It had been a difficult chase. His prey had been clever, but not nearly as clever as he. She had to be down here somewhere. He had seen no other way out from up on the stairs.

He walked slowly down the street, stopping every now and then to examine the ground in front of him. But the streets were clean, leaving no mark of anyone's passage. He couldn't understand how the place could be abandoned for years without any accumulation of dirt or dust on the roads.

He shrugged and walked on. He would just have to depend on his eyes and intuition.

He walked along the railing beside the lake for a while, slowly sweeping around in a wide circle. To his right he saw a pathway leading out to a small open building on the lake. To his left was a narrow alley.

He turned and walked a few steps down the alley. And then he saw her, crouching at the far end of it. Her back to a large crystalline wall that blocked her escape. She was trapped.

He walked slowly toward her, bringing his gun up, a smile forming on his lips. After all this time he had her. The hunt had been worth it. She had been a worthy advesary, but now the game was over.

Reeve stood pressed against a doorway near the front of the alley. Under ordinary circumstances Danneko probably would have spotted him immediately, but he was concentrating on his quarry.

Reeve lunged out of his hiding place just as Danneko walked by. He reached out and grabbed hold of Danneko's gun, wrenching at it to try to pull it from the man's grasp, but Danneko recovered quickly. He managed to hold onto the gun, twisting around and pulling it out of Reeve's grasp. Reeve clutched at the man again, grabbing hold of his leg and throwing him off balance. They both fell to the ground.

Danneko swept his arm around and struck Reeve in the cheek with his elbow. Reeve saw stars, but still he held on. Danneko twisted again and hit Reeve with the butt end of his gun. He struck him three or four times, until Reeve finally let go, rolling away and clutching his head.

Danneko stood up and looked around. Nipala was gone.

He looked down at Reeve, rage blazing in his eyes.

"You let her get away," he said accusingly. "You idiot. It took me months to finally get her where I wanted her, and now she's gone again. I don't know if I'll ever get a chance like that again. You stupid son of a bitch!"

He brought his gun up once more, and Reeve was suddenly looking down the barrel of it. He clenched his teeth , though blood dripped from his mouth. He would not beg, not this time.

The air was suddenly rent by a beastial roar. Danneko turned just as Nipala slammed into him. The gun flew from his hands, and he fell to the ground, with her on top of him.

Her claws slashed through the air, and suddenly Danneko screamed.

Reeve stumbled to his feet.

"Nipala, no!" he cried. He staggered over and picked up Danneko's gun. He turned and looked at them. They were both on the ground, Danneko underneath. His shoulder was laid bare from her claws and her fangs were wrapped around his neck, but she had not bit down yet.

"I've got his gun," Reeve exclaimed. "He's no longer a threat."

Reeve opened the gun and the bullets clattered to the ground. Then he took it by the barrel and slammed it against the ground. The stock broke off, and the barrel bent. Then he turned and heaved what remained of it into the nearby lake.

"It's over," he said. "He can't hurt you now. If you kill him, you'll be just like him."

Nipala just looked at him for a long time. Then she slowly released her grip and backed away.

Danneko lay there unmoving, looking at them with shock and fear on his face.

Reeve walked up next to Nipala, grimacing in pain. They both looked down at Danneko. Reeve put a hand on Nipala's shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," he said.

Reeve looked once more at Danneko, who was slowly getting to his feet.

"Bother us anymore and we'll kill you," he said. Then they turned and walked away.


	10. I hate to say it, but yes, it's Midgar o

CHAPTER IX

I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT YES, IT'S MIDGAR ONCE MORE

"I'm scared," Shera said.

Aeris did not reply, but she took Shera's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. A reassurance she did not feel herself. She wondered what Zack could be up to. He had been acting like a man possessed. Dragging them relentlessly onward, east from Rocket Town, then across the ocean to Junon, and finally northeast to a city Aeris would rather forget. Back once again to Midgar.

They had reached the crumbled ruins of the city just as the sun was setting, and Aeris had been filled with forboding. She didn't know what Zack had in mind, but returning here brought back memories of Shinra that she would just as soon forget. She couldn't help but think that the company had something to do with what was happening to Zack now, and if that were true, she knew no good could come of it.

She looked around as they walked down the broken streets, and for the first time her mind entertained thoughts of escape. Not so much for herself but for Shera. She could understand Zack wanting to keep her with them, she was a tie to his past, she could tell him things that she was sure he would want to know, if his mind wasn't clouded by what now seemed to possess him. But why had he taken Shera? He needed her for some purpose, that much was obvious. Whatever it was, Aeris knew she had to stop him somehow. She couldn't let him hurt her, she had promised Cid, yet she was sure that was exactly what Zack intended to do. She had a feeling that Shera was the key to this whole thing.

But Zack's men were gathered close together now, and Altim was not guarding her at the moment. She could see him walking near the back with another man. He looked up at her. She smiled, but he turned away. There was no opportunity to run at the moment.

She was not surprised when they headed straight for the remains of Shinra headquarters. Zack led them inside, and they swiftly walked through the building and down three floors. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. But that was no surprise. As a member of SOLDIER, he must have been here before.

He led them through a large room until they came to what appeared to be a blank wall. But then he pressed a concealed button and a hidden door in the wall opened. Aeris could see what looked like some kind of laboratory inside. Zack led them in.

The room was well lit and must have been sealed tightly, for there was little dust on the equipment. Zack turned to look at them.

"You can store all the gear over there," he said, pointing to the far wall. Then he looked at Shera.

"You, come with me."

Aeris stepped forward.

"What are you going to do with her?"

Zack looked at her, anger welling in his eyes. Suddenly everyone else fell silent. Behind her, Altim slowly started forward, his hand slipping down by his dagger.

"You'll find out soon enough," Zack replied.

"Zack, what are you doing?" Aeris said. "Don't you see that you are being controlled? Don't you realize that Shinra is manipulating you somehow. Why else would you have come here? What is left here that Zack could possibly want?"

"I am not Zack!" he replied angrily. "I am the Swordsman. And I don't have to answer to you."

He went to step around her but she blocked his path.

For a moment she saw a flicker of shock on his face. Then the anger returned to his eyes. He drew his sword.

"Get out of my way," he said emotionlessly.

"Zack, please," she replied, looking straight at him. "I know the man I cared about is still in there. I know how strong he was. There must be something of him left inside you still."

Altim was but a few paces away now. Slowly he drew out his dagger.

"I'm not going to say it again," Zack said. She saw no hint of emotion in his eyes.

"It's all right," Shera said suddenly. She stepped up to stand beside Aeris. "I'll go with him."

Aeris turned to look at her.

"Shera..." she started.

"No, it's all right," Shera said quickly. "I'll go." She looked at Zack. "Just don't hurt anyone."

Zack looked at Aeris once more, but he said nothing. Then he reached out and grabbed Shera by the arm. Altim sheathed his dagger.

Zack started to lead Shera away, but he was suddenly intterupted again.

"Let her go, Zack."

The all turned to look at the entrance to the room, Aeris heart leaping.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed.

He stood in the doorway. Tifa by his side. Zack's gang looked around in bewilderment. They had been so occupied with what was going on they had not noticed the newcomers.

Zack turned to look at them for a moment, then turned away again and comtinued to lead Shera away.

"Stop!" Tifa shouted. She stepped into the room and looked back at Cloud. But he did not follow, instead he bowed his head and grimaced.

"Cloud," she said. "This is not a good time."

He slowly lifted his head again. He looked at her blankly. He did not seem to be in any pain.

"Cloud, c'mon," Tifa said. She looked at Zack, who was leading Shera toward a door at the far end of the room. "He's getting away!"

She looked at Cloud again, but he did not move.

"Cloud!" she said, desperation in her voice.

He just stood there.

She turned again and suddenly ran toward Zack.

One of Zack's men lunged at her with a knife, but she twisted out of the way and drove an open palm into his face. He fell back with a cry. Zack let go of Shera's arm and pulled out his sword. He turned to face her.

"Tifa!" Aeris cried in horror.

But suddenly she saw Cloud spring forward. In a moment he was beside Tifa. She turned to look at him, and his fist shot out.

Tifa crumpled to the ground.

Zack brought his sword up.

"No," Cloud said, "Don't kill her."

Zack looked at him for a moment, then nodded. He lowered his sword and looked at his men.

"Take her and lock her up in one of the vaults." He looked at Aeris. "And lock her up too. We'll deal with them both later."

One of Zack's men came up and took Aeris by the arm. Two other men picked up Tifa. As they led Aeris out of the room, she turned and got one last glance of Zack and Cloud, both walking away with Shera between them.

* * *

The Slipstream came to a landing just outside of the wall surrounding Midgar. Barret stepped out of the plane, followed by the others. He looked around. The ruins of Midgar stood in front of them in the darkness, silent yet full of menace. He saw no sign of danger, but he knew that meant nothing. Already he was sure dark eyes were following them, dark forces gathering.

He shook his head.

"Here we go again," he muttered.

He led them through the crumbling wall and into the streets of Midgar. The others followed slowly. Cid was last in line, walking with a slight limp. Red looked at him and seemed to want to say something, but a glare from Cid silenced him.

Barret led them down the center of the street, making his way toward Shinra headquarters. No one argued with his choice of destination.

A quarter moon hung above the buildings to the west, but the night sky was cloudy, and as they approached the building the moon was obscured, and they were shrouded in darkness.

They walked up the steps and stood at the entrance. It loomed before them like a black hole in the earth. The remained there for a moment. No one was anxious to enter.

"I'm going to be really pissed if we go in there and they're not here," Reno said.

Yuffie peered into the darkness inside the building.

"I don't see any sign of anyone," she said nervously.

Barret looked in over her shoulder. He had to admit she was right. Could it be that he had led them on a wild goose chase?

"Well, we'll never know by standing out here," Cid exclaimed, stepping forward. "C'mon, let's get this done."

He walked into the building. The others followed immediately, Cid having provided the push they needed to get past their reluctance.

They made their way slowly through the building, then down to the lower levels. The upper floors had been severly damaged, or destroyed completely, by Meteor. If anything was still intact, Barret suspected it would be underground.

When they reached the third floor below ground level they were surprised to see that the lights were on.

They stepped out of the stairway and looked around.

"Looks like something might be going on here after all," Rude commented.

They hurried down the corridor, heartened to have found some clue that they might be on the right track. They found even more evidence at the next interesection. To their left down the corridor they saw two men.

For a moment they all just stood there in surprise. Then one of the men pulled out a gun and started firing at them. They dodged back around the corner.

The party opened up with their own weapons.

Cid looked around the corner. The men had taken up defensive positions behind some machinery at the end of the corridor. They couldn't get at them without exposing themselves.

"Barret," he called, "take a couple of the others and try to get around behind them. We'll keep them occupied."

Barret nodded. He started down the hallway to the right, Red and Yuffie following, but just as they neared the end of it half a dozen ghoul like creatures came around the corner in front of them.

"Shit," Barret exclaimed. He opened up with his gun. Two of the creatures went down, but the others sprang at him. One fell from Yuffie's sherukin, the others were met by Red's claws. They could see more coming around the corner.

They retreated back down the corrider. Barret turned back to Cid.

"Looks like all the noise has brought us some company," he stated.

Cid looked back. The corridor behind them was filling with the creatures. Ahead of them waited the guns of their enemy.

"We're trapped," he said.

* * *

Tifa opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying on a cot in a small windowless room. Aeris stood beside her.

She sat up and her head spun. She brought her hands up to her throbbing temple.

"He hit me," she said in disbelief.

"He probably saved your life," Aeris stated.

Tifa looked at her with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"Tifa, you may be a match for Zack without his weapon, but you wouldn't have stood a chance against him with his sword."

Tifa looked at the ground.

"I suppose you're right," she replied. "I just wish he could have found a less painful way to do it."

Aeris put her hand on Tifa's shoulder.

"You know he wouldn't hurt you intentionally," she said.

Tifa nodded.

"I know," she said. She stood up and looked around.

"We've got to get out of here."

"I don't think that is going to be possible," Aeris replied. "Do you know what Zack is going to do with Shera?"

"No," she replied. "But I know it isn't going to be anything good. We've got to stop them somehow."

She walked over to the door and examined it. She realized right away it was much to solid to break through.

She looked at Aeris, who stood in the corner of the room, seemingly unperturbed by all that was happening. Tifa could not understand how she could be so calm, but Aeris had always been like that. She always seemed to think that fate would provide, somehow.

They heard a noise outside, and then the door slowly opened. Altim stood in the entrance. They could see one of Zack's other men lying on the floor behind him.

"I've come to free you."

He stepped back out of the way. They walked out, Tifa last, thinking maybe there was something to this fate thing after all.

"Hurry," Altim said, leading them quickly back the way they had come. As they reached an intersection they heard the sounds of battle off to their right.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked.

"Not sure," Altim replied. "Someone's attacking us. Seems like all hell is breaking loose."

"It must be the others," she said. She looked at Aeris.

"You go on," she said. "Get back to Zack and Cloud and slow them down somehow. I'll lead the others back to you."

Aeris nodded and hurried off down the corridor, Altim beside her. Tifa turned and ran toward the sounds of battle. She didn't think they had much time left.

* * *

"Cloud," Shera said, staring at him as he finished strapping her onto the table. He did not respond, or even glance at her face. He had only one thought on his mind. Finishing the job of cloning Hojo.

The world needed Hojo. He had done great things in his time, but his greatest accomplishments were yet to come. The Jenova Project had not been completed. Cloud had not reached his full potential, and he never would without Hojo.

All these years he had misunderstood what Hojo had been trying to do. All those years he had fought against Hojo under the mistaken impression that the man would bring ruin to the planet, but the whole time he had been leading them all to paradise.

Cloud realized it now. He realized how wrong he had been. But Hojo had forseen this crisis, and had left them with the means to complete his mission.

Only Hojo could make him as strong as Sephiroth.

He looked at Zack, who had opened the genetic material he had taken from Nibelheim and was now filling a syringe with it.

No, it was only right that Hojo return. He was a hero. He had been the one that started the Jenova Project. The one who had started them on the road to paradise. The one who had...

_ruined so many lives._

He frowned. Where had that thought come from? Of course Hojo had hurt some people, but only when it had been necessary. Only for the better good. Some sacrifices had to be made in the name of science. It's not like he...

_tortured Vincent unmercifully_

What is happening to me? Cloud thought. Suddenly he felt a pounding pain in his temples. Where were these thoughts coming from? Hojo was a good man. He would never hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary.

_He wouldn't turn his own son into a monster._

Cloud groaned aloud. Zack turned around, syringe in hand. He looked at Cloud for a moment, but said nothing. Then he walked over to Shera.

Shera stared at him, a look of horror in her eyes.

"Cloud, help me," she pleaded.

Cloud stood there, his thoughts a mass of confusion. Hojo was a man to be admired. He had been trying to save the world, hadn't he?

_He had killed Proffessor Gast in cold blood. He had tortured Aeris mother with his twisted experiment until she had died. He had been an insane murderer._

Cloud thought his head would explode.

Zack bent down over Shera and prepared to insert the needle.

Cloud lunged forward and knocked the needle away. It flew out of Zack's hand and shattered on the stone floor nearby. Zack turned to look at him with a snarl. He drew his weapon. Cloud stepped back and drew his as well.

For a moment they stood there staring into each others eyes. Then Zack sprang forward.

Their swords met with a thunderous clang, and sparks flew from them. Again and again they lashed out at one another, and Zack's men all fled in terror from the two, battling as if possessed by demons.

Cloud slowly retreated. His head still throbbed, and his legs felt like rubber. It almost seemed as if his body did not want to obey him. But though he was in pain he had regained a grip on himself, and once he had acheived that he would not let himself slip backwards. He gritted his teeth and fought on grimly.

His own throbbing head wasn't the only problem. He was fighting someone at least as skilled as he was, who was trying desperately to kill him, while he could only defend himself. Cloud's whole style was built around attack, to take the fight to the enemy as quickly and ferociously as possible. But he couldn't do that with Zack, he didn't want to kill his old friend.

Zacks sword slashed in, and came away red. Cloud glanced down and saw blood seeping from his left arm.

Zack's blade came at him again. He parried and slowly retreated once more, until finally he stood with his back to the wall. He could retreat no further. If something didn't happen very soon, one of them would have to die.

* * *

Cid twisted out of the way as a ghoul clawed at him. He jabbed with his spear and the ghoul went down. He sat down, his side aching. The others were all fighting furiously, some against three of four of the creatures. And he could see more coming down the hallway.

He looked around the corner once more. He could not see the enemy, but he knew they waited there. A blast of gunfire evey once in a while served as a reminder. He looked at the others. It was obvious if they stayed here they would be overwhelmed. They would have to charge the gunman and hope for the best.

He slowly got to his feet.

"Barret," he called.

Barret turned to look at him without bothering to stop firing.

"We'll have to make a run for it."

Barret nodded.

Cid turned and looked down the corridor again. It was a good thirty yards to cover. They could not possibly hope to make it without taking some hits.

He heard more gunfire, but they did not seem to be firing at him. Suddenly one of the gunman stumbled into the corridor and lay still.

Cid stood there for a moment, not sure what had happened. Then Tifa came around the corner of the hallway beside the fallen gunman. She leaned against the wall and looked at him.

"So what, are you going to stand there all day?" she questioned.

Cid grinned. He turned to the others.

"Let's get out of here!"

They ran down the hallway. When they reached Tifa she turned and led them through a doorway off to the right. Red, who was last in line, slammed the door behind them and wedged it closed.

"That'll hold them for a little while," he said.

"Yeah, but not for long," Cid stated. "Tifa, where's Cloud?"

She told them what had happened to her as she led them swiftly down the hallway.

"They're going to do something to Shera, but I don't know what," she finished, looking at Cid.

"But we do," he replied grimly. He told her what Red had discovered at Cosmo Canyon.

"So he's under some kind of computer control?" she asked when he had finished.

"Yes," Cid said. "As far was we can figure."

"So if we destroy the computer, will that bring them back to normal?"

Cid shrugged. He looked at Red, who had come up beside them.

"It seems likely," Red answered.

"Seems likely?" Tifa said. That hardly sounded like a ringing endorsment.

"It's possible that the program will so ingrained in them that even without the computer they will continue to follow the instructions. Although that is unlikely."

"Great," Barret muttered.

The came around a turn and almost ran into half a dozen of Zack's men. With a cry the battle was joined.

Tifa dodged around the man who attacked her, not even bothering to counter. She sped past two others and then she was past them. She ran down the hallway but they did not pursue her, content to battle with the others. She didn't have time to stand there and fight. She needed to find this computer and take it out. Suddenly she did hear someone coming up behind her. She turned quickly but it was only Red. Apparently he had the same idea.

"C'mon," she said. She had seen some computers in the room near where Zack had taken Shera. "I think I know where that computer is."

* * *

The main room of the lab was deserted when Aeris and Altim reached it. All Zack's men had left the area, gone to fight, or run off to save their own skins. They could hear the sounds of swords stiking against one another in the next room, however.

Aeris turned to Altim.

"You better get out of here," she said. "I can take care of myself from here on in. And my friends will soon be here. I don't want them to mistake you for one of their foes."

He stood there and looked at her without moving.

"I don't want to leave you," he said.

She smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thank you, for everything."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

He looked away, turning a deep shade of red.

"Go on, get out of here now, while you still can."

Then she turned and ran into the other room.

He did not move for a moment, and he had to fight the urge to follow her, but he knew somehow that she was right. He had done what he could for her. He looked around, and then ran over to get his pack. Then he looked up at the other gear lying along the wall.

Aeris saw Shera strapped in place on a table in the center of the room, Zack and Cloud locked in battle behind her. She could see that Cloud was backed against the wall.

He glanced over at her.

"Aeris," he said. "Get Shera out of here. I'll hold off Zack."

She looked at him, and even as he spoke Zack attacked savagely. Cloud defended himself, but she could see he was in an awkward position. Zack had him pinned against the wall.

She bowed her head and concentrated.

Cloud felt another slash across his leg, and he stumbled slightly. Zack's sword swung like lightening, but Cloud managed to parry it. He didn't think he could do that much longer.

Suddenly Aeris raised her arms. The room blazed with a white light, and stars flashed around them. Suddenly Cloud saw that both he and Zack were surrounded by a glowing white light.

Zack's sword flashed again. It got past Cloud's guard and slashed at his chest, but it did not make contact. It could not penetrate the magical barrier Aeris had erected.

Zack redoubled his attack, not seeming to realize that they were both protected from harm by Aeris spell. Cloud stood there and parried, trying to conserve energy. He knew Aeris protection was only temporary. Hopefully Zack would exhaust himself before it wore off.

* * *

Vincent fired and one of Zack's men went down. He turned around. Elena stood nearby, but none of the others were in sight. Two more of Zack's men suddenly sprang at him. He took one out with his gun. The other was too close. The man lunged at him with a knife, but he twisted out of the way. He brought his left arm up and felt metal stike forhead. The man went down.

He looked around again. There were no other enemies nearby. He turned to Elena.

"Where have the others..."

The first man Vincent had shot was on the ground, directly behind him. Suddenly she saw him pull himself up and point his gun at Vincent.

She brought up her gun, but Vincent was in the way. She didn't have a clear shot. She instantly realized that he would not be able to react in time if she called out. She had to act now.

She fired.

Vincent grunted and stumbled, then sat down slowly. The man behind him dropped the gun and sank to the ground.

She ran over to Vincent.

"You shot me," he stated, looking at her. There was no anger or surprise in his voice.

She bent down and looked at his leg.

"It's only a scratch," she said. "It was the only way I could hit him. There wasn't time to do anything else."

He looked at her.

"Perhaps you're more ruthless than I thought," he observed.

"Maybe I am," she replied. "And by the way, that's not all you were wrong about. The Turks don't work for Shinra anymore. We're an independent organization. Reno's in charge now, and whether he likes it or not, things are not going to be run the way they used to. He's not going to use me, and he certainly isn't going to discard me. And it he tried to, I'd kick his ass."

"And that's not all," she continued. "You're wrong about yourself as well. You say you don't care, that you have no more feelings left, that the organization and Hojo removed all that from you, made you into some of machine. But that's bullshit. You do care. If you didn't you would never have come with us in the first place. You walked away from me at the Gold Saucer, but you came back after you talked to Reno. Why? Because you did care. You say it was just to explain why I should stay away from you, but why bother even telling me that, if you really didn't care? Why didn't you walk away after you told me? Why are you here right now? The truth is it's all just an act. The truth is you were hurt so badly in the past that you are afraid to try again. It's not that you don't have the capacity to love, it's just that you are afraid to. You don't want to be hurt again, but just because you've been hurt in the past doesn't mean it'll happen again. You can't just give up. You've got to..."

Suddenly he grabbed hold of her. He put his hand behind her head and drew her to him, pressing his lips against hers. For a moment her eyes widened in surprise. He brought his other arm around her and pulled her even closer, until their bodies were pressed against one another as tightly as their lips. Slowly her arms came up and wrapped around him as well.

"Ummm," she purred contently.

They stood there unmoving for a long time, but to Elena it seemed like forever.

Finally their lips parted, but their arms remained wrapped around one another.

"What brought that on?" she asked.

Their faces were still only inches apart. She stared into his red eyes, more human looking now than she could ever recall.

"It was the quickest way I could think of to shut you up," he replied.

She smiled.

"I see," she said. "So all I have to do to get a kiss is to talk? Well, I think I can handle that rather easily. I'm not exactly shy about opening my mouth you know. In fact, if you ask Reno..."

He pulled her to him again. They slowly sank down beside one another, and Elena did not talk again for quite some time.

* * *

Tifa walked down the hall slowly, peering into each room as she walked by. She knew she had seen a room with computers in it when she and Cloud had come down here. She was almost sure it was somewhere down this hallway.

Red followed silently behind her.

She reached the last room and looked inside. There was a line of computers along the wall.

"This is it," she said.

She walked in and saw something moveing out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look, but it was only a rat running along the wall. It disappered into a crack near one corner of the room. She looked at the computers. Some of them were running, some seemed to be doing nothing. It was all meaningless to her. She turned to looked at Red.

He walked down the line, looking at each one in turn. Finally he stopped at the end.

"This one's the server," he said. "This is the one that's running the program."

She came up beside him.

"So if we shut this one down we stop the program?"

Red nodded.

"That's correct."

"Get out of the way," she said.

He stepped back. She walked to the side of the cpu, set herself, and then with all her strength drove her leg into the side of the unit. Sparks filled the air as the cpu flew across the room. It smashed against the far wall, breaking apart. Chips and circuit boards scattered across the floor.

Red looked solomnly at the broken remains, then at Tifa.

"We could have just turned it off, you know."

She turned toward him, a grim smile on her face.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been nearly as satisfying."

* * *

Barret rushed into the main lab, followed closely by Cid, Yuffie, Reno and Rude. They could see Aeris standing just inside the next room. Barret called out to her and ran over.

Yuffie started to follow but then spotted a pile of gear lying on the floor along the wall. One bag looked familiar. It was the bag she had seen in Bennis' tent. The one that held the materia.

She glanced at the others, but none of them seemed to be paying any attention. Then she darted over to the gear. She was about to pull open the bag when she sensed someone else behind her.

"Not so fast," Reno said.

He grabbed hold of the bag as well.

"Dio is going to pay us a lot of money for that materia," he continued.

Yuffie tried to yank the bag out of his hands.

"It's mine," she said. "I saw it first."

"We were on the trail of it long before you were," he retorted. "You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for us."

He pulled back, harder. The bag slipped from her grasp. She turned and wrapped her arms around Reno's legs. They went down in a heap.

"What, are you kidding?" she said. "If you hadn't slowed me down I'd have had this materia long ago. Now hand it over."

"What a joke," he replied. "If it wasn't for us you'd be dead twice over all ready. You owe us."

She crawled up over him and grabbed hold of the bag. He twisted round, pulling it from her grasp again, and sending the bag sliding across the floor away from them. It stopped right at the feet of Rude, who was standing there watching them.

"There you go again," she said. "I told you I can take care of myself. I don't owe you anything. The materia is mine!"

She scrambled to her feet and lunged for the bag, but he grabbed hold of her leg and dragged her down again.

"You ungrateful little witch," he growled. "After all we've done for you."

He got a grip on her and tossed her to the side. He stood up and lunged for the materia again, but she was up in an instant, leaping onto his back and dragging him down yet again.

"All you did for me you did because you wanted me to stay with you," she shouted. "Because you knew you needed me to find the materia."

Reno looked at Rude, who had reached down and picked up the bag.

"Rude, take the materia and get out of here," he said. "I'll take care of this pest."

"Touch that and I'll hunt you down like the dog you are," Yuffie exclaimed.

Reno twisted around to face her.

"Needed you?" he blurted out. "Boy, do you have a warped view of reality. All you've been is a pain in the ass since we met you. It would have been a pleasure to get rid of you. The only reason we let you stay with us was because we knew you would just screw up the job for us if we left you running around by yourself."

"Uh, guys," Rude said.

"Screw it up for you?" she exclaimed. "I never met a bigger bunch of incompetents. All you ever did was wander around observing this and looking at that. You couldn't even keep track of where they were going."

Reno grabbed hold of her leg and pivoted, forcing her off of him. She grabbed hold of his shirt as he staggered to get up once more. There was a ripping sound.

"Oh great, my good shirt," he said disgustedly. He grabbed hold of her neck and slowly forced her away from him. She kicked at his leg, knocking him off balance. They fell once more, this time with him on top.

"Hello?" Rude tried again.

"Like you could have tracked them any better," Reno said. "We found them in the end, didn't we. No thanks to you."

"No thanks to you either," she retorted. "It as Vincent who put us on the right track. You had nothing to do with it."

"HEY!" Rude shouted.

They both stopped and turned to look at him.

He upended the bag. A dozen chunks of concrete spilled to the floor.

"Looks like somebody beat us to it," he said.

Yuffie and Reno stared at the the concrete, speechless. They slowly stood up.

Yuffie was the first to recover.

"I should have know better than to trust you guys," she said, looking accusingly at Reno. "What did you do with it?"

Reno turned toward her.

"What did we do with it? Why you little cheat. You knew it wasn't in there all the time, didn't you?"

Rude turned away and shook his head.

"Oh brother," he muttered.

* * *

Cloud parried yet another blow from Zack, and even as he did so he saw the aura fading from around them. Aeris barrier was gone.

Zack raised his sword over his head. But then he stopped.

Pain had been throbbing through Cloud's head, creating a fog that he could barely function with. But suddenly it was gone. His head was clear. There was no more pain.

Zack lowered his sword and looked around, his gaze falling on Cloud, then Aeris, and then Shera still lying on the table. His eyes widened with realization.

"What have I done," he said softly.

Aeris came up beside him and took him by the arm. Just as she did so Barret came in the room, followed by the others. Cid ran up and released Shera, then swept her up into his arms. They could hear her sobbing once again, but this time with joy.

Barret turned as Tifa and Red came in.

"You took out the computer," he said.

Tifa nodded.

Barret took one more look around.

"Looks like the party's over," he proclaimed. "Now let's get out of here before every monster in Midgar decides to show up."


	11. The Choice

CHAPTER X

THE CHOICE

Cid brought the Slipstream down in the same field he had picked Red up the previous time he had come here. Red got out as soon as the plane came to a stop, Cid following behind more slowly.

Red hurried down the trail toward the City of the Ancients.

"Hey, wait up," Cid called. He had reaggrevated his injury in the battle last night, but even if he had been healthy he would not have been able to keep up with the pace Red was setting.

Red stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I'm worried about Reeve. I'm afraid I was a bit selfish in letting him stay. I should have insisted he come back with us."

Cid shrugged.

"Hey, it was his own choice," he responded. "If he's gotten himself into any kind of trouble, I'm sure we'll be able to straighten it out. I just hope he hasn't gone and gotten himself lost."

They continued down the trail, more slowly this time, with Red resisting the urge to speed down the path as fast as his legs would carry him. If something had happened to Reeve, he would be responsible.

They reached the lake, and both of them stopped and stared in surprise at what they saw there.

Reeve lay on the ground beside the lake, his head resting comfortably on Nipala, who was stretched out, basking in the warm morning sun. Suddenly her head came up and she looked at them. Reeve noticed the motion and turned toward them as well. They both got up and strolled over.

Cid and Red just stood there.

Reeve stopped when he reached them and looked at Red.

"Nanaki," he said. "I'd like you to meet Nipala."

Cid came up next to him.

"Nice goin Reeve," he whispered.

Red nodded a greeting.

"I've been searching for you for quite some time," he said.

"I know," she said hesitantly. Slowly she told him what she had said to Reeve earlier.

Red stood there thoughtfully for a moment after she had finished.

"I know my father was an ambitous man. For the longest time I thought him a coward. No matter what may have happened, no matter who may have been at fault, if anyone, I think it would be best to lay it to rest now. Certainly neither you or I bear any responsibility. As for the law, well, if I recall correctly, that particular law was stricken from the books over a hundred years ago."

"I knew it!" Reeve exclaimed. "See, you're free to go to Cosmo Canyon."

"Indeed you are," Red agreed. "Would you like to go see it?"

Nipala smiled.

"I can think of nothing I would like better."

* * *

Shu sat down beneath a tree and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Man, I'm tired. My backpack feels like it weighs a ton."

Altim sat down beside him. They had been walking all morning, and now stood in the foothills of the mountains south of Midgar.

Shu looked at him.

"Well, we've had quite a little adventure, haven't we? I bet you never expected anything like that when you left Junon to join me. What a disaster."

Atlim stared off into the distance and shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know about that."

Shu looked at him.

"I would hardly call you going ga ga over some girl you'll never see again adequate compensation for all we went through. And it's certainly not going to pay our way once we get back to Junon," he remarked.

Altim continued to stare off into the distance, and for a moment Shu thought he was ignoring him. But then Altim turned toward him.

"I might see her again some day," he said slowly. "But that wasn't what I was referring to. I believe we came out of this better than you think. Remember those materia orbs Bennis took from that convoy?"

Shu looked at him sharply for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"You lifted them?" he said.

Atlim nodded.

"You've got them here, in you backpack?" Shu questioned.

"Not exactly," Atlim replied, looking at him. "They're in yours."

Shu's mouth dropped open. He slipped off his backpack and spilled out the contents. A dozen materia orbs rolled into the grass in front of him.

"Well I'll be a..."

He didn't finish the sentence. He looked at Altim again. Then he reached over and slapped him on the back.

"Son of a bitch," he said. "We'll make a theif out of you yet!"

* * *

Later that day Cloud and the others gathered together at Tifa's bar for an impromptu celebration. Cloud sat at a table watching the others for a while, not really saying much. The constant buzz in his head was gone, and his thoughts were clear, more so than he could ever remember. He was completely cured, yet he was not content.

He looked around slowly. He saw Vincent and Elena in a dark corner of the room, talking quietly together. Red and Nipala lay side by side by the fire, watching the others with amusement. Cid sat at a nearby table, with Shera on his lap, a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, right in the middle of telling a dirty joke. Some role model he was going to be.

But Cloud sat alone.

No, his mind was not clouded now, and he had been thinking a lot about what had happened to him, and to all the others. He had been thinking hard about his own life.

All his life he thought he had been sure of what he wanted. He wanted to be strong, he wanted to be admired. He wanted to be a hero.

And who could say he hadn't achieved that? He and the others had fought Shinra and Sephiroth and won. They had literally saved the world, but he had never been satisfied. To him there had always been another battle to fight, another challenge to face. No matter what he achieved, it had never been enough. He had always been driven, and that drive had consumed his life.

But for some reason he no longer felt that way. Perhaps it was because he finally felt free of Shinra's shadow. Perhaps it was because he had had the stength of will to fight off Hojo's influence. Perhaps he was just maturing, although he thought that unlikely. Nevertheless, he no longer felt an overwhelming urge to excel.

For the first time that he could remember, he wanted something else out of life.

He wanted to share it with someone else.

It was time to make a decision.

He got up slowly and walked upstairs. The sounds of the others slowly faded away below him. He walked down the hall toward Tifa's room.

As he approached the door opened and someone stepped out. She stopped when she saw him, her eyes glinting in the light.

"How's Zack?" he asked.

"Resting comfortably," she replied. "He still has a headache, but I'm sure he'll be fine."

"He still doesn't remember anything?"

She shook her head.

"From before he was shot? No, and I don't know whether he ever will. He remembers what happened afterward, though, all too well."

Cloud nodded.

"We all know it wasn't his fault."

"He knows that too, but I'm afraid it doesn't make him feel any better."

She looked at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he said. "I guess it just didn't affect me as much. Maybe because I was a failed experiment."

"Or maybe it was because you have more strength of will than you give yourself credit for," she said.

He looked at her and then looked down at the ground.

"Maybe," he replied.

He looked up at her again.

"Aeris..."

She returned his gaze. Her soft green eyes looking at him expectantly, innocently.

"I need to talk to you about something important. I couldn't tell Tifa. I don't think she would understand. But I think you will."

She did not reply, but continued to look at him expectantly.

"I hope you will."

He turned away from her. He knew this was going to be hard, but he hadn't realized how hard.

Aeris came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Cloud, it's all right," she said.

He turned to look at her and she gave him a reassuring smile. But that did not make him feel any better.

"Aeris..."

He turned away again and did not speak for a long time.

"Aeris...I..." He stopped and took a deep breath. He had to just come right out and say it.

"I love you Aeris..." he said softly.

She stared at him, and she felt her heart suddenly beat faster in her chest. But he did not look at her, and she realized with sudden certainty that that was not the end of the sentence.

"...but I love her too," he finished.

He turned to look at her once more.

"I couldn't bear to hurt either one of you."

She looked at him carefully. Then she reached out and took him by the hand.

"You won't hurt me," she said slowly. "I love you too, Cloud. I...I love you enough..."

She paused for just a moment.

"...to let you go," she finished.

She looked up into his eyes, but he turned away.

"It's okay Cloud," she said. If she had any doubts, they were gone now. "You've got to follow your own heart. You've got to do what makes you happy. I understand."

He slowly turned back toward her. His other hand came up and he grasped her hand in both of his.

"Thank you, Aeris."

She smiled.

"You don't have to thank me," she replied. "Now go on. Get out of here. Go to her. You've waited long enough."

He let go of her hand. She looked at him one more time, and saw a faint smile on his face. Was it possible for someone to smile and look sad at the same time?

He leaned forward and kissed her. Their lips touched, for just a moment. Then he turned away and hurried down the steps.

"That was very noble of you."

She turned to see Zack standing in the doorway, half outlined in the light from the window.

"Perhaps," she said slowly. "I know he loves her. I think I've known it from the very begining."

"Still, he needed you to tell him you understood," Zack said thoughtfully. "I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't."

Aeris shrugged.

"I have to admit that not too long ago I might not have. But things have changed. I now think my destiny lies elsewhere," she said, looking at him carefully.

Zack returned her gaze, but he did not speak.

"Besides," Aeris continued. "She loves him much more than I ever did. Her love burns so brightly it almost blinds me sometimes."

Aeris had never loved like that. She wondered if she ever could.

"I couldn't keep them apart," she continued. "When I was ressurected, Tifa was willing to give up her life for me. I know she was doing it for Cloud, but that doesn't diminish the fact. How could I keep her from what she cherishes most in the world?"

Zack reached out an put his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't remember anything else from before I was shot," he said slowly. "But I remember you. Now I know why."

She reached up and took his hand.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do," she said. "But I have something I have to do first. I realize now that I've been running from some things as well. It's time to put the past to rest and get on with my life anew."

She looked him in the eye and slowly disengageed.

"I'll be back soon."

Then she turned and walked slowly down the hall.

* * *

Tifa pulled off her apron and sat down at a small table in the kitchen. She had been running around serving drinks and preparing food for her friends since the party began. But now she was tired. If they wanted anything else, Mikko could get it for them, or they could get it themselves.

For the first time in a long time, she felt she could relax.

And yet...

They had won again. They had beaten Hojo. Even though he had reached from beyond the grave. But the Jemova cells Hojo had implanted in Cloud still remained. They could never get rid of them. Did that mean they could never be safe from Shinra? Yes, they had won this time, but was this really the last time? Who knew what other plots Hojo had hatched while he had been alive, who knew what other traps he had set? Would they ever really be free of him? Could they ever really be sure?

Tifa shook her head slowly.

Probably not. But whatever happened, whether Cloud was finally free or would have to struggle against this for the rest of his life, she knew she would be there for him. Always.

She hadn't forgotten what she had told herself at the baby shower, before things had gone so terribly wrong.

She would tell him.

She slowly stood up. She looked at the dooway leading into the main room of the bar. There was no sense in putting it off any longer.

But she did not move.

Why is this so hard? she thought angrily. Shera had been right. She had faced down Shinra and Sephiroth. She had thrown herself into dozens of battles without a second thought. Why was it so difficult to say three simple words?

Was it fear of rejection?

What else could it be? She couldn't stand the thought that he was in love with Aeris, but it was a real possibility. She didn't know what she would do if that were true. But as long as she didn't ask, as long as she didn't know for sure, then she still had hope. She still something to cling to.

But what good was false hope?

Wouldn't it be better if she found out once and for all? She couldn't live her whole life like this. She had to know, one way or the other.

She gritted her teeth and started forward, even though that simple act seemed like the hardest thing she had ever had to do.

* * *

Cloud reached the bottem of the stairway and looked around. He could not see Tifa, but Yuffie sat at a table right next to him.

"Have you seen Tifa?" he asked. "I have to tell her something. Something important."

Yuffie turned to look at him.

"I think she's in the kitchen," she replied.

She watched him idley as he walked away. As Cloud was passing the entrance to the bar someone approached him.

"Are you Cloud Strife?"

A young man who he had never seen before stood looking at him questioningly.

Cloud nodded.

"I have a message for you," the boy said. He handed Cloud a piece of paper, then turned and walked away. Cloud opened the letter and started to read. Slowly his face became very pale. He looked up, but the messanger was gone. He stood there for a long time, unmoving. He glanced around one more time. Then he turned and strode deliberately out of the bar.

* * *

Barret sat at the bar not far from Reno and Rude, but not too close either. The party had been boisterous at first, but now that everyone had drunk their fill things were starting to quiet down. He looked over his shoulder and saw Tifa approaching.

"Barret," she said. "Have you seen Cloud?"

"Not in a while," he replied. "Why?"

"I've looked all over and I can't find him anywhere," she said with a hint of concern in her voice.

Barret stood up.

"He must be around somewhere," he said reassuringly. "Have you asked the others?"

"Not everyone."

He looked around.

"Well, let's see if any of them have seen him. Hey!" he yelled. The others looked at him. All except Reno, who by this time was too drunk to care. "Has anybody seen Cloud lately?"

No one spoke until Yuffie piped in.

"I saw him a little while ago. Some kid handed him something. I think it was a message. Then he took off out the door."

"A message?" Tifa questioned.

"I guess," Yuffie replied. "That's what it looked like, anyway. They were standing right by the entrance."

Tifa frowned. For some reason she felt suddenly uneasy. She slowly walked over to the entrance, looking around. A crumpled piece of paper lay by the door.

She picked it up and unfolded it. As she read she slowly turned white as a ghost.

Barret came over and took the paper from her. He looked at it and read aloud.

_Cloud, _

_I know this is kind of sudden, but I assure you it is of the utmost urgency. I would not have gotten in touch with you if it were otherwise. Meet me at pier number three at the dockyards in Junon at ten thirty tonight. Do not be late. There is more at stake here than you could possibly imagine. _

_Signed, _

_Morgan Strife_

Barret looked up with a frown.

"Morgan Strife?" he said. "Who the hell is Morgan Strife?"

He looked at Tifa, who was staring at the ground, shaking her head slowly.

"His father," she whispered.

* * *

Aeris emerged from beneath the trees and stopped. The sun was low on the horizen, the western sky streaked with purple. Ahead of her she could see the dark outline of the shell house, and beneath it the calm water of the lake.

She stood there for a long time in silence, then slowly approached the lake. She did not remember, but Cloud had told her what they had done. Had told her where they had laid her to rest.

The water was calm and crystal clear. She felt a strange reluctance to approach. What had happened to her body then? What would she see if she stared deep into the water?

She realized how ridiculous that was, but she couldn't help the way she felt.

Still, she had come here to let go of the past. She had to look.

She walked slowly forward until she stood at the very edge of the lake. Then she gazed down into it.

She did see herself there.

She bent down and touched the water, sending ripples through her reflection. Two small fish dashed away at the disturbance, but beneath them there was only smooth sand.

She turned and looked at the shell house. All this time what had happened here had kept her from returning. All this time what Sephiroth had done had stopped her. Stopped her from coming back to the City of the Ancients. The city of her people.

But that was over now. Sephiroth was dead. He had no hold over her anymore. It was time to let go of the past. It was time to return to the city of her heritage.

Without hesitation she walked toward the shell house that was the entrance to the city. To her city.

It was time for her to return to her real home.

* * *

Lightening flashed across the night sky, and a torrent of rain poured down upon the dark streets of Junon. All along the streets shopkeepers and citizens alike scurried inside and closed their doors to the billowing rain, until the flash of lightening in the sky revealed only empty streets.

Or perhaps not quite empty. For suddenly there was a clattering on the cobblestones. Those who had not closed their shutters saw dark figures rush by. When the lightening flashed again, it revealed four figures riding hard on Chocobos through the city streets.

Straight for the docks they raced, heedless of the rain pouring down around them. When they reached the gates they dismounted, and the few dockworkers unlucky enough to have pulled the shift for this evening saw four people swathed in dark cloaks dash by, running as fast as they could toward pier three.

Barret raced forward, but even so Tifa outdistanced him. The downpour left a sheen of water on the ground even where it had not formed into open puddles. Barret had to catch himself from falling half a dozen times. He looked back and saw that Vincent and Elena were having as much trouble as he. But Tifa ran on unheeding, not seeming to notice the rain, or the bright bursts of lightening or tremendous claps of thunder. She ran on as if possessed.

She rushed out onto the pier, looking ahead, straining her eyes to see if any ship lay there. But there was none. She looked out farther on the pier, but the far end was obscured in the rain and darkness for a moment.

She ran out farther still, and the end came into view. But even as it did she saw something else. The dark bulk of a ship slowly moving away.

"Cloud," she cried.

It was a submarine. She could see it clearly now. A single white light shone from it's stern. It was moving away from the pier. Even now it might be too far...

"Cloud," she shouted again. "Cloud, wait for me!"

Suddenly her foot slipped on a wet plank. She fell down jarringly and skidded to a halt just short of the edge of the pier.

She looked up and saw the submarine fading away into the darkness.

"Cloud," she said, her voice choked with anguish. She had followed him for so long. They had been through so much. And now, after she thought it was all over...

He couldn't leave her now.

They were supposed to be together forever.

"Please, Cloud," she said softly. "Please don't go where I can't follow."

She lifted herself to her knees, staring out into the darkness where the ship had vanished. Her clothes were drenched, the rain still pouring down around her, mixing with the tears that ran down her face.

Barret ran up beside her. He looked out into the darkness, then stooped down beside Tifa and put his arm around her.

"Don't worry Tifa," he said. "We'll find him. No matter where they take him or how far we have to travel, we'll find him."

THE END

* * *

_AUTHORS NOTE: What? That's it? That's the end? What are you, CRAZY?? There, now you don't have to Email me. Okay, that's the end of Hojo's Legacy, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the series. I told you before I couldn't make it too easy. _

_A couple of odd things about this one. No offensive use of materia. Barely any magic at all really, except for Aeris. Now that I look back on it, there really isn't all that much fighting either. I guess that's what happens when your major antagonists are an old friend and a computer program. _

_I decided to add a lot more about Reeve. I think he's a much more interesting character than Cait. It's likely you'll be seeing more of him and less of Cait in the future. _

_It is just me, or do a lot of people seem to be pairing up? What can I say, I guess I'm just a romantic kinda guy. _

_I'm sorry. I just had to choose Tifa. She is my favorite character, after all. I hope I didn't alienate all you Aeris fans out there. I do like her a lot too, and I don't think she's going to come out of this too badly. _

_As usual, feel free to Email me with any comments at . _

_That's all til next time._

* * *

_PUBLISHER'S NOTE: And that's a wrap for Hojo's Legacy. Stay tuned for The Dark Shore._


End file.
